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EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 


LINCOLN  ROOM 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


MEMORIAL 

the  Class  of  1901 

founded  by 

HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 

and 

HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


I- 


p 


CHARLES  C.  ADAMS 

149  Manning  Blvd 

AlBANY,  ft  Y. 

NOV  2  8  1936 


V* 


// 


Eight  Months  in  Illinois 


Eight  Months  in  Illinois 


With  Information  to  Immigrants 


William  Oliver 


Newcastle  upon  Tyne 
1843 


WALTER  M.  HILL 

CHICAGO 

1924 


Copyright  by 

Walter  M.  Hill 

1924 


THE   TORCH    PRESS 

CEDAR    RAPIDS 

IOWA 


The  Editor's  Note 

WILLIAM  Oliver's  account  of  his  journey  to  Illi- 
nois and  back  dates  from  a  period  when  the  im- 
migrant movement  took  definite  aims  and  reliable  in- 
formation about  the  then  Western  country  was  eagerly 
sought.  Oliver  set  out  in  December,  1841.  James 
Regan,  his  countryman  and  contemporary,  sailed 
three  months  later.  Each  felt  the  social  responsi- 
bility of  giving  a  true  account  of  his  experiences. 
Regan  produced  a  highly  dramatic,  confidentially 
discursive  tale.  Oliver  saw  the  need  of  brevity  and 
of  attendance  on  pertinent  facts  and  typical  traits, 
for  his  object  was  to  enlighten  the  poorer  classes. 
There  was,  as  he  states,  no  need  of  books  on  America 
for  certain  classes,  but  the  question  of  how  the  poor 
peasant  might  attain  a  livelihood,  necessitated  a  new 
kind  of  book;  one,  indeed,  free  from  history  and 
esthetics,  but  replete  with  useful  and  tangible  facts 
bearing  on  every-day  life  in  the  prairie  region  of  the 
middle  "West. 

This  problem  was  solved  with  a  skill  quite  remark- 
able in  a  man  that  turned  writer  for  this  only  pur- 
pose. We  find  in  his  book  a  most  interesting  dia- 
gram of  a  farmer's  life  and  work  eighty  years  ago. 
As  a  document  in  the  economic  history  of  the  mid- 
dle West,  his  little  book  has  few  equals.  Its  value 
for  the  historical  conception  of  farming  and  trade 


6  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

in  relatively  primitive  days  also  is  very  great.  The 
author's  conclusions  are  sound,  and  his  knowledge  is 
stated  with  a  cheerful  freedom  from  prejudice. 

Through  the  medium  of  essential  facts  and  typical 
incidents  we  are  able,  in  this  account,  to  follow  the 
course  of  the  settler's  simple,  diligent,  laborious  life 
almost  from  day  to  day  —  and  to  estimate  its  possi- 
bilities from  a  close  view  of  its  stern  realities.  This 
is  the  book 's  chief  value.  And  the  absence  of  critical 
comparison  helps  concentrate  the  reader's  attention 
upon  essential  traits,  live  realities.  Much  of  this 
now  is  almost  as  remote  as  the  landing  of  Columbus. 
But  there  remains  a  sense  of  that  golden  opportunity 
which  never  was  separable  from  the  name  of  America. 
The  records  of  prices,  the  cost  of  initial  house-build- 
ing and  farming,  the  ease  and  freedom  that  went  with 
original  acquisition  of  landed  property:  all  this  asso- 
ciated itself  with  manners  and  habits,  and  with  a 
view  of  life  felt  as  a  blessing  and  a  charm,  difficult  to 
express  in  words,  yet  outlined  in  the  life  of  every- 
body fond  of  our  historical  ideals. 

To  foster  and  develop  this  spirit  is,  of  course,  the 
ultimate  purpose  of  all  new  editions  of  the  great 
books  of  the  past. 

Eight  Months  in  Illinois  is  one  of  the  rarest  of  the 
later  English  books  of  travel  and  has  had  but  scant 
recognition  from  historians  and  students  of  our 
"Western  forms  of  life.  This  reprint,  extended  by  an 
index,  may  help  the  book  in  attaining  the  place  it 
deserves  in  our  records  of  the  past. 


EIGHT  MONTHS 


ILLINOIS; 


INFORMATION  TO  EMIGRANTS. 


BY  WILLIAM  OLIVEK. 


The  pride  to  rear  an  independent  shed, 

And  give  the  lip*  we  love  unboi  fow.'d  bread ; 

To  tee  a  world  (roar  shadowy  for  rati  won. 

In  youthful  beauty  wedded  to  the  sun  ; 

To  skirt  our  home  with  harvests  widely  sown, 

And  call  the  blooming  landscape  all  our  own. 

Our  children's  heritage  in  prospect  long. 

These  3re  the  hopes,  high-minded  hopes,  and  strong. 

That  beckon  England's  wanderers  o'er  the  brine,—— 

THOUAS  CiMPBILU 


NEWCASTLE  UPON  TYNE: 

T HINTED  BY  WILLIAM  ANDhcW  MITCHELL, 

AND  (OLD  BY 

k.  *  T.  BRUCE,  OREY  STREET;    W.  EASTON.  JEDBURGH; 
AND  J.  D.  KBNNEDY,  HAWICK. 

MDCCCXL1II. 

[Original  Title-Page] 


Inscribed 
to 

The  Labouring  Men  of  Roxburgshire 

With  Sincere  Wishes 

for 

Their  Welfare 


Preface 

IN  commencing  the  arrangement  of  the  following 
notes,  the  principal  object  the  author  had  in  view 
was  to  afford  as  much  information  as  possible,  in  a 
shape  that  might  be  available  to  the  poorer  classes. 
The  volume,  however,  though  small,  and  published  in 
a  cheap  form,  has  attained  to  a  size  which  he  did  not 
anticipate,  —  a  circumstance  which  may  in  some  mea- 
sure defeat  his  object;  still  he  is  inclined  to  think 
that  there  is  very  little  in  it  which  does  not,  more  or 
less,  tend  to  throw  some  light  either  on  the  people  or 
on  the  country  of  which  it  treats. 

It  may  be  said  that  there  is  no  need  of  books  on 
America  —  an  assertion  which,  as  regards  certain 
classes,  may  be  true;  but  many  of  the  books  on  that 
country  are  expensive,  and  no  single  work  on  Illinois, 
with  which  the  author  is  acquainted,  enters  sufficiently 
into  details  for  the  poor  emigrant. 

The  information  given  has,  to  a  considerable  extent, 
been  determined  by  enquiries  made  of  the  author  by 
intending  emigrants,  and  whilst  he  thinks  there  may 
be  found  information  useful  to  such,  he  at  the  same 
time  hopes  that  the  work  may  not  be  entirely  destitute 
of  the  means  of  affording  amusement  to  the  general 
reader. 

Langraw,  12th.  August,  1843. 


Contents 

CHAPTER  I. 

Page 

Departure     from    New    York.  —  Breakfast    on 

Steamboat.  —  Amboy.  —  Railroad.  —  Borden- 

town.  —  Delaware   River.  —  Philadelphia.  — 

Harrisburg.  —  Journey  across  the  Alleghanies. 

—  Pittsburg.  —  Ohio  River.  —  Western  Steam- 
boat. —  Regulations  on  Boat.  —  Gambling.  — 
Ice  on  River.  —  Wheeling.  —  Southern  Planter. 

—  Slavery.  —  Cincinnati.  —  Louisville.  —  Ap- 
pearance of  Country  on  the  Ohio.  —  Town  Job- 
bing.—  Bird's  Point.  —  Mississippi  River. — 
Flat  Boats.— Hotel 21 

CHAPTER  II. 

Delay  at  Bird 's  Point.  —  Brawl  with  Boatmen. — 
Appearance  of  the  Rivers  at  Sunrise.  —  Shoot- 
ing. —  Preaching.  —  Unhealthy  Situation.  — 
No  safe  Site  for  a  Town.  —  Arrival  of  Boat.  — 
Entrance  among  Ice  on  Mississippi.  —  Appear- 
ance and  Dangers  of  the  River.  —  Grand 
Tower.  —  Towns.  —  Chester  in  Ills.  —  Kaskas- 
kia  Landing. —  Movers.  —  Kaskaskia.  —  Amer- 
ican Bottom.  —  Wild  Horses.  —  Habits  of 
People.  —  Meals.  —  Gambling.  —  Start  for 
Plum  Prairie.  —  Kaskaskia  or  Okaw  River.  — 


14  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

Bluff.  —  Prairie.  —  Description  of  (Prairie). 

—  Grasses.  —  Weeds.  —  Flowers.  —  Rolling 
Prairie.  —  Flat  Prairie.  —  The  highest  best.  — 
Extent. —  Formation  by  Deposition  in  Water. 

—  Uniformity  in  Level.  —  Cause  of  Inequali- 
ties.—  Barrier  of  Supposed  Lake  at  Grand 
Tower.  —  Why  denuded  of  Wood.  —  Fires  by 
Lightning.  —  Rapid  Growth  of  Trees  where 
Fire  is  kept  out.  —  Risks  from  Fire.  —  Setting 
out  Fire  to  meet  Fire.  —  Prairie  on  Fire  dur- 
ing the  Night. —  Coal 44 

CHAPTER  III. 

People.  —  Character  not  good  on  Rivers  but  bet- 
ter among  the  Farmers.  —  Dislike  to  Yankees. 

—  From  all  Parts  of  America  and  most  of 
Europe.  —  From  the  Slave  States.  —  Religion. 

—  Sects.. —  Superstition.  —  Anecdote.  —  Husk- 
ing Frolic.  —  Hogs.  —  Hog-killing.  —  Breeds 
of  Hogs.  —  Weather  in  January.  —  Intense 
Cold.  —  Trapping  Pinnated  Grouse  or  Quails. 

—  Chopping. —  Axes. —  Making  Rails. —  Chop- 
ping Bee. —  Accidents. —  Spring  Ploughing  for 
Maize.  —  Maize.  —  Produce.  —  Uses.  —  Plant- 
ing. —  Sod  Corn.  —  Cutting  and  storing  Maize. 

—  Wheat.  —  Harvest  in  June.  —  Oats.  —  Up- 
lands Rice.  —  Buck-Wheat.  —  Barley.  —  Cot- 
ton. —  Tobacco.  —  Potatoes.  —  Sweet  Potato. 

—  Melons  and  Pumpkins.  —  Turnips  do  not 
succeed.  —  Beet    and    Mangelwurzel.  —  Castor 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  15 

Oil  Beans.  —  Cradle  Scythe.  —  Method  of 
using  hay.  —  Prejudice.  —  Bluegrass.  —  Arti- 
ficial Grasses.  —  Thrive  best  on  Ridge  Lands. 

—  Red  Clover.  —  System  of  introducing  arti- 
ficial Grass  into  the  prairie.  —  Choked  by 
Weeds 68 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Ploughs.  How  made.  —  Compared  with  Scotch 
Ploughs.  —  Horses.  —  Cattle.  —  Management 
of  Cattle.  —  Hollow-horn.  —  Milk  Sickness.  — 
Steers  sold  to  Ohio  Drovers.  —  Heifers  taken 
North. —  Prices  of  Cattle. —  Starting  of  Droves 
on  their  Journey.  —  Description  of  a  Start. — 
Sheep.  —  Necessity  of  watering  and  protecting 
from  Wolves.  —  Wool  manufactured  by  Fe- 
males. —  Fowls.  —  Eggs.  Sent  to  St.  Louis.  — 
Education.  —  Schools.  —  Teachers.  —  School 
Funds.  —  Government  of  Illinois.  —  Right  of 
Suffrage  universal.  —  Public  Lands.  —  Sur- 
veys. —  Divisions.  —  Sales.  —  Payments.  — 
Taxes  on  Lands.  —  "Tax  Title."  —  Tax  on 
Horses,  Cattle,  Clocks  and  Watches.  —  Militia. 

—  Manners  of  the  People.  —  Amusements.  — 
1 '  Independence  Day. ' ' —  Anecdote.  —  Singings. 

—  Store.  —  Grocery.  —  Mills.  —  Cost  of  erect- 
ing Saw  and  Grist  Mill.  —  Wind  Mills.  — 
Thunder  Gusts.  —  Thunder  Storms.  —  Fatal 
Accident. —  Climate. —  Indian  Summer,  Cause 
of. —  Breaking  up  of  Winter. — Variable  Tern- 


16  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

perature.  —  Winds.  —  Diseases.  —  Doctors.  — 
Anecdote.  —  Duration  of  Life.  —  Funerals. — 
Burial  Grounds 97 

CHAPTER  V. 

Wild  Animals.  —  The  Buffalo.  —  Disappeared 
from  Ills.  —  Where  found.  —  Buffalo  Licks.  — 
Salt  Licks.  —  The  Elk.  —  Deer.  —  Bear  and 
Panther.  —  Wolf.  —  More  than  a  match  for  a 
dog.  —  Seldom  attacks  Man.  —  Instance  of  a 
Person  attacked.  —  Beaver.  —  Raccoon.  —  Rac- 
coon hunting.  —  Opossum.  —  Skunk.  —  His 
means  of  defence. —  Shooting  one.  — The  Mink 
or  Polecat.  —  Mink  hunt.  —  American  Hare  or 
Rabbit.  —  Method  of  Hunting.  —  Squirrels.  — 
Wild  Turkey.  —  Method  of  Hunting.  —  Pin- 
nated Grouse.  —  Peculiar  Cry.  —  Quails.  — 
Method  of  taking.  —  Migratory  Waterfowl.  — 
Passenger  Pigeon.  —  Barred  Owl.  —  Destruc- 
tive to  Fowls.  —  Fishing.  —  Shooting  Fish.  — 
Insects.  —  Snakes.  —  Rattlesnake.  —  Bite  of 
Snakes.  —  Method  of  cure.  —  Method  of  Bite- 
ing.  —  Size  of  Rattlesnake.  —  Yellow  Mocassin 
Snake.  —  Copper  Head  Snake.  —  Hogs  kill 
Snakes.  —  Battle  between  a  Snake  and  a  Cock. 
—  Deer  kill  Snakes 134 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Hunting.  —  Hunter  always  poor.  —  Enticing  Oc- 
cupation. —  Habits.  —  Hunting  on  Horseback. 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  17 

—  Appearance  of  "Western  Hunter.  —  System 
of  hunting.  —  Kentucky  Rifle.  —  Size  and 
Calibre.  —  Coarsely  made. —  Frequently  burst. 

—  Long  Barrels  preferred.  —  Advantages  of  a 
small  Bore.  —  Tearers.  —  Scroll  ought  to  be 
suited  to  the  Bore.  —  Charging  Rifles.  —  Hunt- 
er 's  method  of  finding  proper  Charge.  —  Me- 
thod of  recutting  Rifles.  —  Rifles  of  Eastern 
States 154 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Start  from  St.  Louis.  —  St.  Louis.  —  Daily  Mar- 
ket. —  Population.  —  Crimes.  —  Lynch    Law. 

—  Steamers.  —  Coal.  —  American  Bottom.  — 
Ancient  Mounds.  —  Bots  Fly.  —  French  Vil- 
lages. —  Reasons  for  emigrating  from  Slave 
State.  —  Collinsville.  —  Troy.  —  Missouri 
Drovers  with  Sheep.  —  Blacksmith.  —  Western 
ferocity.  —  Ridge    Prairie.  —  Excellent   Land. 

—  Person  from  Sangamon.  —  Fine  Tract  of 
Country.  —  Marine  Settlement.  —  Want  of 
Inns.  —  Loquacious  Landlady.  —  Looking- 
glass  Prairie. —  Bad  Water. —  Manners  of  Peo- 
ple. —  Coal.  —  Greenville.  —  Vandalia.  —  Bil- 
ious  Fever.  —  National   Road.  —  Cumberland. 

—  Doctor.  —  Movers.  —  Living  in  the  Wilder- 
ness. —  Anecdote.  —  Ewington.  —  Little  Wa- 
bash.—  River  Embarras. —  Wretched  Accom- 
modation.—  Bad  management  of  Roads. —  Law- 
less Conduct. —  Marshall. —  Leave  the  Prairies. 


18  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

—  Wabash   Bottom.  —  Ferry.  —  Terre   Haute. 

—  Fever.  —  Wabash  River.  —  Bluff.  —  Red 
Sandstone.  —  Movers.  —  Mormonites.  —  Na- 
tional Road.  —  Inns.  —  Manhattan.  —  Horses 
get  lame.  —  Travelers.  —  Bryant.  —  Coal  and 
Limestone.  —  Boulders.  —  Indianapolis.  — 
Fever.  —  Horses  sold  by  Auction.  —  Cold.  — 
National   Road,   Difficulties  on.  —  Centreville. 

—  Fine  Country.  —  Richmond.  —  Boulders.  — 
Dayton.  —  Factories.  —  Miami  Canal.  —  Ho- 
tels. —  Stage.  —  Springfield.  —  Sheep.  — 
Cattle.  —  Mules.  —  Movers.  —  Columbus.  — 
Ohio  Canal.  —  Stage  to  Sandusky  City.  —  Pas- 
sengers. —  Independent     Conduct.  —  Prairie. 

—  Sheep.  —  Bucyrus.  —  Mineral  Springs.  — 
Ridge,  ancient  Shore  of  Lake  Erie.  —  San- 
dusky. —  Steamer.  —  Huron.  —  Cleveland.  — 
Buffalo.  —  Financial  Report     ....  167 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Routes.  —  From  New  York,  by  Philadelphia,  to 
Pittsburg.  —  Route  from  Pittsburg  to  Mouth 
of  Ohio.  — From  Mouth  of  the  Ohio  to  St. 
Louis.  —  Expences  from  New  York  to  Phila- 
delphia. —  Fare  from  New  York  to  Philadel- 
phia. —  To  Pittsburg.  —  To  Cincinnati.  —  To 
Louisville.  —  To  St.  Louis.  —  Deck  Passage 
from  New  York  to  Philadelphia.  —  To  Pitts- 
burg. —  To  Cincinnati.  —  To  Louisville.  —  To 
St.  Louis.  —  Route  from  New  York  to  Chicago, 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  19 

111.  —  Fare  on  Erie  Canal.  —  Railroad.  — 
Packet  Boats.  —  Chicago  to  Peru,  Illinois 
River.  —  Route  from  Peru  to  St.  Louis.  — 
Route  from  New  York  by  Cleveland,  Ohio  and 
Erie  Canal,  and  Ohio  River.  —  Best  Route 
from  Britain  to  Mississippi  Valley  by  New 
Orleans.  —  Fares.  —  Luggage.  —  Location.  — 
Where  to  locate.  —  Undulating  Prairies.  — 
Bluffs  on  Rivers.  —  Bottoms.  —  Board  on  Prai- 
ries. —  Wages.  —  Location  of  a  Family.  — 
Raising  Shanties.  —  Water.  —  Wells.  —  House- 
Raising.  —  Fences.  —  Splitting  Rails.  —  Stake 
and  Rider.  —  Quick  Fences.  —  Orchards.  — 
Peaches.  —  Cost  of  erecting  Houses,  etc.  — 
Cost  of  buying,  fencing,  and  improving  80 
Acres  of  Land.  —  Value  of  Produce  raised  from 
80  Acres  of  Land.  —  Profit  on  Land.  —  Com- 
parative view  of  Prices.  —  Concluding  Re- 
marks. —  Money.  —  Exchange.  —  Gold.  — 
Bills  on  London. —  Bank  Deposits. —  Checques, 
Premium  on,  in  the  West.  —  Western  Money. 
—  French,  Spanish,  and  Mexican  Coins  cur- 
rent. —  United  States  Coinage.  —  Sickly  Sea- 
son. —  Complaints  mostly  bilious.  —  Canada 
and  United  States.  —  Conclusion.  —  Who 
should  Emigrate 219 

INDEX 257 


Eight  Months  in  Illinois,  &x. 

CHAPTER  I. 

AFTER  remaining  a  week  in  New  York,  a  friend 
,.and  I  started  for  the  West  before  daylight,  on  a 
morning  of  the  first  week  of  December.  A  brisk  wind 
swept  along  the  deserted  streets,  and  the  cold  was  so 
intense,  we  had  to  move  along  with  all  the  speed  we 
could  exert,  to  prevent  ourselves  from  being  frozen. 
On  arriving  at  the  station  from  which  the  steamboat 
started,  we  were  introduced  into  a  crowded  room, 
whose  atmosphere  was  at  a  temperature  so  different 
from  that  without,  as  to  cause  a  feeling  almost  of  suf- 
focation. After  a  short  time  all  were  on  board,  and 
the  boat  started. 

On  the  approach  of  daylight,  I  became  aware  that 
the  boat  was  crowded  with  passengers,  who,  so  long  as 
it  was  dark,  had  kept  themselves  quiet  on  benches, 
chairs,  and  tables,  or  ensconced  in  any  quiet  nook, 
clear  of  the  disturbance  of  passing  feet.  No  sooner, 
however,  were  there  signs  of  preparation  for  break- 
fast, than  all  were  on  the  alert,  taking  up  their  ground 
most  systematically  for  the  onslaught.  I  had  already 
seen  some  rushing  and  scrambling  at  meals,  in  hotels 
and  boarding-houses,  but  the  affair  was  somewhat  dif- 
ferently managed  in  the  boat ;  the  seats,  ranged  along 


22  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

each  side  of  the  cabin,  were  gradually  occupied,  till 
the  two  expectant  rows  were  sitting  at  open  order,  so 
that  the  servants  could,  without  much  interruption, 
bring  forward  the  materials  of  attack.  No  sooner  did 
the  first  chime  of  the  warning  bell  sound  through  the 
boat,  than  the  ranks  simultaneously  closed  upon  the 
table,  and  the  attack  commenced,  and  proceeded  with 
a  vigour  known  only  in  this  country.  Some  trifling 
impediments  there  were  at  the  commencement  from  a 
lack  of  plates,  when  two  hands  might  be  seen  attempt- 
ing to  urge  one  of  these  articles  in  contrary  directions, 
but  all  and  each  minded  the  main  chance  with  such  a 
will,  that  there  were  no  hindrances  of  any  moment. 
My  friend  had  secured  his  plate,  but  imprudently 
quitted  hold  of  it,  in  order  to  attack  a  fowl  at  no 
great  distance;  which  fowl,  however,  just  as  he  was 
about  to  secure  it,  eluded  his  grasp.  Thinking  the 
gentleman  who  had  taken  it  would  be  content  with 
cutting  off  a  portion,  and  handing  back  the  rest,  he 
patiently  waited,  and  received  the  bones,  after  they 
had  undergone  the  inspection  of  another  person,  who 
apparently  thought  them  not  worth  having ;  when  lo, 
he  found  he  had  nothing  to  receive  them  upon:  his 
right  hand  neighbor  having  been  in  want  of  a  plate, 
had,  without  saying  by  your  leave,  taken  his.  The 
look  of  mixed  surprise  and  chagrin,  which  he  cast 
me,  on  sustaining  this  double  misfortune,  gave  rise  to 
the  emotion  of  the  ludicrous,  which,  however,  was 
instantly  chilled  down  by  the  state  of  the  social 
atmosphere  by  which  we  were  surrounded.  There 
was  no  talking;  everything  was  done  with  the  most 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  23 

imperturbable  gravity.  Space  had  been  left  at  the 
head  of  the  table  for  the  ladies,  who,  on  rising,  retired 
to  their  cabin  from  which  they  had  issued  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  meal. 

At  Amboy,  about  25  miles  from  New  York,  we  were 
transferred  to  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad,  by 
which  we  were  conveyed  a  distance  of  33^  miles, 
through  a  somewhat  poor-looking  country,  to  Borden- 
town,  on  the  Delaware  river,  and  from  thence  by 
steamboat,  29  miles  down  the  river  to  Philadelphia. 

The  Delaware  is  here  a  broad  placid  river,  and  must 
look  beautiful  in  summer.  Its  banks  are  enlivened  by 
many  picturesque  buildings  and  some  nice  villages. 
But  there  was  small  opportunity  of  marking  the 
beauties  of  the  scenery  on  a  boat  rushing  at  a  speed  of 
15  miles  an  hour,  through  an  atmosphere  nearly  at 
zero. 

Philadelphia  is  a  fine  city,  regularly  built,  with 
wide  streets,  embellished  in  many  places  with  beauti- 
ful shade  trees,  planted  at  intervals  along  the  outer 
edge  of  the  footway.  It  is  situated  at  the  south-east 
point  of  Pennsylvania,  on  a  neck  of  land  between  the 
Schuylkill  and  Delaware  rivers.  The  population  in 
1830  was  167,811,  and  in  1840,  258,832,  shewing  an 
increase  during  the  last  ten  years  of  91,021. 

There  are  very  extensive  veins  of  anthracite  coal  in 
the  neighboring  districts,  particularly  at  Pottsville, 
at  the  head  of  the  Schuylkill  canal,  a  distance  of  106 
miles,  and  at  Mauch  Chunk,  on  the  Lehigh,  a  distance 
of  108  miles  by  water  from  Philadelphia. 

Left  Philadelphia  for  Pittsburg  by  railway    (the 


24  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

only  route  at  this  season,  when  the  canal  boats  have 
been  laid  up  for  winter,)  and  passed  through  a  well- 
inhabited  country,  with  good  houses,  barns,  etc.,  and 
in  general,  with  an  appearance  of  comfort  and  stabil- 
ity not  surpassed,  I  am  inclined  to  think,  in  many 
sections  of  the  union.  Among  the  inhabitants  are 
many  Dutch,  or  of  Dutch  extraction,  a  people  the  least 
given  to  change,  perhaps,  of  any  in  the  world.  They 
have  brought  with  them,  from  their  fatherland,  their 
habits  of  economy  and  industry,  and  amongst  other 
things,  the  pointed  gables  and  weathercocks. 

On  arriving  at  Harrisburg,  the  capital  of  the  state, 
our  railway  travelling  was  at  an  end,  as  that  means  of 
conveyance  was  not  completed  any  farther,  so  that  we 
had  to  adopt  the  only  remaining  one  at  this  season, 
to  wit,  the  stage.  Conceive  a  huge  clumsy  article, 
somewhat  like  a  boat,  slung  on  leather  straps,  and 
surrounded  between  the  roof  and  what  may  be  termed 
the  gunwale  with  oilcloth  hangings,  instead  of  panels. 
There  is  a  seat  at  each  end,  and  one  in  the  middle, 
opposite  the  doors,  with  a  leather  strap  stretched 
across  as  a  support  for  such  passengers  as  are  so 
unlucky  to  be  doomed  to  this  seat.  Seats  are  not,  as 
with  us,  retained  by  the  first  occupant;  of  course, 
there  is  a  good  deal  of  manoeuvering  to  obtain  such  as 
are  considered  most  comfortable.  The  ladies,  how- 
ever, are  always  allowed  to  choose.  The  number  of 
human  beings  engulphed  in  this,  the  first  of  these 
vehicles  I  set  my  feet  in,  was  twelve. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe  the  vicissitudes  of 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  25 

travel,  unintermitted,  except  at  meals  and  change  of 
horses,  during  nearly  three  days  and  three  nights; 
suffice  it  to  say  that,  after  performing  a  number  of 
marvellous  flying  leaps,  plunging  through  slashes, 
where  our  vehicle  floundered  about  like  some  un- 
wieldly  monster  of  the  deep  in  shoal  water;  going  at 
one  time  at  a  hard  gallop  to  acquire  the  impetus 
necessary  for  clearing  some  difficulty,  at  another,  pro- 
ceeding with  the  utmost  caution  for  fear  of  being 
precipitated  from  the  ice-covered  track  into  some 
ravine,  we  at  length  arrived  at  Pittsburg,  completely 
tired,  and  glad  to  have  escaped  from  the  stage,  and 
from  the  snow  and  intense  frost  of  the  Alleghanies. 
Of  the  scenery  on  our  route,  I  can  say  very  little,  as 
most  of  what  is  considered  the  finest  was  passed  in 
the  night ;  and  during  the  day  the  curtains  were  kept 
close,  on  account  of  the  cold. 

The  Susquehanna,  about  Harrisburg,  is  a  magnifi- 
cent, clear  river ;  its  broad  reaches,  where  exposed  to 
the  eye,  looking  beautiful  in  the  dark  setting  of  the 
forest.  Unlike  the  Western  rivers,  it  is  varied  by 
pool  and  stream  rolling  over  a  gravelly  bottom;  and 
for  some  time  before  arriving  at,  and  after  leaving 
Harrisburg,  we  heard  the  sound  of  its  waters,  caused, 
I  believe,  by  some  rocky  rapids  in  the  neighborhood. 

About  eight  miles  above  Harrisburg,  we  crossed  the 
Susquehanna  in  a  ferry-boat,  and  could  see,  between 
us  and  the  sky,  some  portions  of  a  viaduct  in  the 
course  of  being  erected  for  the  railway.  Our  course 
now  lay  up  the  Juniatta  river,  until  we  reached  the 


26  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

mountains,  which,  in  this  part  of  the  range,  are  not 
very  grand,  on  account  of  the  gradual  ascent  from 
the  sea ;  —  indeed,  in  many  places,  they  appear  more 
like  the  effects  of  the  watercourses  in  a  high  range  of 
country,  than  mountains  according  to  the  European 
acceptation  of  the  word.  We  had,  however,  some 
glimpses  of  very  imposing  scenery,  though  very  sel- 
dom a  view  of  any  great  extent.  We  sometimes  came 
upon  the  canal,  as  it  wound  its  way  along  the  water- 
courses and  ravines.  Some  snow  fell,  and  there  was 
reason  to  fear  that  our  progress  would  be  impeded; 
but  the  weather  became  calm,  with  hard  frost.  Before 
reaching  Pittsburg,  the  country  became  animated  by 
numbers  of  comfortable-looking  farm-houses,  and 
well-cleared  fields. 

Pittsburg  is  situated  at  the  point  of  land  at  the 
junction  of  the  Monongahela  and  Alleghany  rivers, 
and  is  distant  by  water  965  miles  from  the  Mississippi, 
and  2003  miles  from  New  Orleans.  It  is  a  place  of 
importance,  and  one  of  the  grand  keys  between  the 
eastern  and  western  states,  being  at  the  head  of  the 
steamboat-navigation  from  the  west.  Another  cause 
of  prosperity  exists  in  a  plentiful  supply  of  coal,  by 
which  it  has  become  a  place  of  considerable  importance 
in  the  manufacture  of  ironware,  etc.  The  seams  of 
coal  are  in  the  bluffs  of  the  Monongahela,  and  on  the 
opposite  side  from  Pittsburg,  at  an  elevation  of  about 
320  feet  from  the  water.  Drifts  are  made  directly 
into  the  face  of  the  bluffs,  and  the  coals  are  lowered 
down  the  almost  perpendicular  descent  to  the  river, 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  27 

by  means  of  reciprocating  cars  running  on  a  railway. 
There  is  an  excellent  wooden  bridge  over  each  river. 
Although  the  boating  season  was  nearly  over,  I 
counted  30  steamers  at  the  levee.  There  were  lately 
between  80  and  90  steam-engines  at  work  in  the  city 
and  its  neighborhood.  The  population,  in  1830,  was 
12,542,  and  in  1840,  was  21,296;  the  latter  number 
referring  only  to  Pittsburg  proper.  The  suburbs  and 
villages  connected  with  the  city  are  very  populous. 

Few  things  are  more  surprising,  to  a  native  of  the 
old  country,  on  examining  some  of  the  western  towns, 
even  of  recent  date,  than  the  multitude  of  articles  of 
luxury,  which  he  meets  with  in  the  stores  and  ware- 
rooms.  He  may  have  toiled  all  day,  through  the 
tracts  of  the  primeval  forest,  without  seeing  a  live 
thing,  except,  perhaps,  a  deer  or  a  squirrel,  and  come 
upon  a  town,  stuck  down  among  the  woods,  with  the 
undecayed  stumps  in  its  streets,  and  there,  where  he 
might  suppose  it  hopeless  to  expect  anything  beyond 
the  bare  necessities  of  life,  he  will  find  stores  contain- 
ing many  of  the  luxuries  of  cities  long  settled  in  civil- 
ization. I  saw  at  Pittsburg  a  large  wareroom  full  of 
upholstery  and  cabinet  work,  consisting  of  elegant 
mahogany  tables  and  chairs,  sofas,  chests  of  drawers, 
bureaus,  work-tables,  pianofortes,  etc.  At  every  step 
one  encounters  the  anomaly  of  semi-barbarism  joined 
with  civilized  existence. 

Having  stayed  two  days  at  Pittsburg,  I  went  to  the 
levee,  and  found  two  boats  about  to  start  down  the 
river.    These  were  likely  to  be  the  last  boats  for  the 


28  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

season,  and  there  evidently  being  an  understanding 
between  the  captains,  I  had  to  submit  to  an  over- 
charge. The  cabin  fare  charged  to  Cincinnati,  460 
miles,  was  15  dollars;  about  one-third  more  than  the 
ordinary  charge. 

The  frost  had  been  intense  for  some  days,  and  there 
was  a  good  deal  of  floating  ice  on  the  Alleghany.  A 
few  days  more,  it  was  asserted,  would  bind  up  the  Ohio 
firm  and  fast.  The  rivers  were  low  too,  so  low  that 
none,  except  the  smallest  craft,  could  pass  the  bars 
and  sand  banks  in  the  Ohio.  Luckily,  ours  was  a 
small  boat.  Under  these  somewhat  discouraging  cir- 
cumstances, we  swung  round  from  the  levee,  and 
commenced  our  run  down  ' '  La  belle  riviere, ' '  skirting 
an  immense  circular  field  of  floating  ice,  revolving 
with  the  water,  at  the  junction  of  the  rivers.  The 
Ohio  is  here  600  yards  wide.  We  were  soon  satisfied 
that  the  fears  entertained  of  the  lowness  of  the  river 
were  not  without  reason,  as  the  boat  several  times 
rasped  against  the  bottom. 

Everything  about  a  western  steamer,  from  the  boat 
to  the  passengers  inclusive,  appears  novel  to  an  old- 
country  man.  The  boat  is  a  slight  thing,  fitted  only 
for  inland  navigation,  and  whose  hull  forms  a  com- 
paratively small  portion  of  the  fabric.  Immediately 
above  the  water  line,  or  what  would  constitute  the 
gunwale  of  the  hull  itself,  spars  about  four  feet  long 
are  laid  horizontically ;  thus  increasing  the  width  by 
eight  feet.  On  this  deck  are  situated  the  furnaces, 
boilers,  and  engine.     The  boilers  are  cylinders,  pro- 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  29 

portioned  in  size  to  the  power  wanted,  and  five  or  six 
in  number,  are  ranged  across  the  beam,  the  furnaces 
opening  on  the  forecastle.  The  engine  is  placed  im- 
mediately behind  the  boilers,  the  piston  working  hor- 
izontally, and,  with  the  intervention  of  a  joint,  directly 
on  the  crank  of  the  paddle  shaft.  I  never  noticed  a 
boat  with  more  than  one  engine,  and  that  invariably 
high  pressure.  The  deck  is  partially  shut  in  by  places 
for  cooking,  larders,  store-rooms,  etc.,  and  to  it  the 
steerage  passengers  are  restricted,  their  locale  being 
abaft  the  engine ;  and  a  higgledy  piggledy  place  it  is 
when  full  of  passengers. 

Immediately  above  this  is  the  cabin  deck,  which  is 
divided  into  three  apartments,  the  ladies'  cabin  farth- 
est aft,  the  gentlemen 's  cabin,  which  is  also  the  dining- 
room,  and  the  bar,  which  very  appropriately  is  over 
the  boilers.  The  staterooms,  which  contain  two  berths 
each,  are  ranged  along  the  sides  of  the  cabin,  and,  in 
many  boats,  have  doors  which  open  to  a  sort  of  gang- 
way, on  which  a  fellow  on  hot  nights  may  take  a 
promenade  in  puris ;  no  small  luxury  when  mosquitoes 
are  not  troublesome. 

The  cabin  is  covered  in  by  what  is  termed  the  hur- 
ricane deck,  which  is  resorted  to  as  a  promenade,  and 
on  which,  overlooking  the  forecastle,  is  situated  the 
pilot's  house,  a  small  square  apartment,  roofed  in, 
and  glazed  all  around  to  within  four  feet  of  the  deck. 
In  this  is  the  wheel,  which  acts  on  the  rudder  by 
means  of  ropes  or  chains  led  aft.  In  this  position,  the 
steersman  can  readily  see  and  avoid  many  obstruc- 


30  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

tions,  such  as  floating  trees,  etc.,  which  it  would  be 
impossible  for  him  to  do  in  the  ordinary  position.  In- 
deed the  improvement  is  so  obvious,  at  least  to  my 
unnautical  experience,  that  I  am  surprised  it  is  not 
adopted  in  some  shape  among  our  own  river  craft. 

There  are  placards  hanging  in  every  boat,  with  a 
list  of  regulations,  some  of  which  appear  rather  odd 
to  a  stranger.  Among  the  regulations  on  one  of  the 
boats,  I  saw  two  which  I  thought  worthy  of  notice, 
the  one  intimating  that  if  ' '  any  of  the  boats '  servants 
committed  a  fault,  gentlemen  would  be  kind  enough 
not  to  chastise  them  with  their  own  hand,  but  would 
complain  of  them  to  the  officers  of  the  boat;"  the 
other,  that  "gentlemen  would  be  kind  enough  not  to 
turn  into  the  beds  with  their  boots  on."  The  gentle- 
men evaded  the  enactment  against  the  boots  by  turn- 
ing in  their  bodies,  and  leaving  their  legs  and  boots 
sticking  out. 

The  gambling  on  some  of  these  boats  is  frightful; 
indeed,  it  is  said  that  many  individuals  make  a  pro- 
fession of  it,  and  are  constantly  travelling  on  the  riv- 
ers. It  is  whispered,  too,  that  some  of  these  take  still 
more  unwarrantable  means  than  gambling  to  possess 
themselves  of  their  neighbor's  property,  and  that 
sometimes  a  passenger  goes  on  board  a  boat  who  is 
never  seen  or  heard  of  again.  ' '  Every  one, ' '  to  quote 
what  I  had  heard  remarked,  "every  one  is  armed 
with  a  bowie  knife  or  some  weapon  —  when  there  is  no 
moon,  the  summer  nights  are  very  dark  in  these  lati- 
tudes, and  the  sound  of  the  paddle  wheels  would  pre- 
vent a  plunge  in  the  river  from  being  heard. ' ' 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  31 

As  the  ice  still  continued  to  increase,  we  were  ap- 
prehensive that  the  boat  would  be  unable  to  proceed. 
The  speed  was  much  slackened,  and  one  morning  the 
boat  had  to  make  way  through  a  continued  sheet  of 
ice,  which,  it  was  asserted,  another  night 's  frost  would 
render  impregnable ;  luckily,  however,  a  thaw  com- 
menced, and  we  saw  no  more  ice  on  the  Ohio. 

At  Wheeling,  we  were  detained  an  entire  day,  wait- 
ing for  the  chance  of  passengers  expected  by  a  stage 
from  Baltimore;  the  great  national  road  from  that 
city  striking  the  river  here.  —  Great  discontent  pre- 
vailed among  the  passengers,  but  they  evidently  never 
dreamed  of  making  any  remonstrance. 

Wheeling,  in  Virginia,  is  a  thriving  place,  with  a 
population  of  between  five  and  six  thousand.  The 
bluffs  in  the  neighborhood  are  bold  and  abounding  in 
coal. 

The  expected  stage  arrived,  and  we  got  some  addi- 
tional passengers,  among  the  rest  a  southern  planter, 
a  man  of  very  gentlemanly  address  and  pleasing  man- 
ners. I  mention  this,  because  I  was  struck  with  it  at 
the  time.  I  had  not  anticipated  such  a  marked  dif- 
ference between  the  people  of  the  eastern  and  southern 
states.  This,  of  course,  was  only  one  example,  but 
future  experience  confirmed  the  opinion  I  then  im- 
bibed. The  southern  man  seems  to  have  applied  to 
his  head  some  of  the  time  which  he  of  the  east  applies 
almost  exclusively  to  his  purse.  Whilst  the  down- 
east  er  takes  for  his  motto  "go  ahead,"  and  acts  ac- 
cordingly, he  of  the  south  appears  meditative,  and 
inclined  to  enjoy  his  otium  cum  dignitate.    They  are 


32  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

both  thinking  men ;  but  one  is  a  clever,  shrewd  man  of 
the  world,  whilst  the  other  has  a  much  more  circum- 
scribed intercourse  with  his  fellows,  and  is  in  some 
degree  a  man  of  retirement.  The  one  will  ask  the 
price  of  produce  down  east,  and  will  exhibit  among 
strangers  a  cold  and  forbidding  exterior;  the  other 
will  talk  to  you  of  his  conservatory  and  of  his  flowers, 
and  will  carry  along  with  him  some  of  the  feelings 
and  amenities  of  home.  Both  are  kind  and  hospitable 
at  their  own  hearths.  There  is,  perhaps,  more  classi- 
fication of  society  in  the  south  than  in  the  east,  and  I 
here  allude  to  a  portion  of  the  higher  class,  if  such  dis- 
tinction may  be  allowed  in  America.  What  may  be 
termed  the  lower  class,  in  the  slave  states,  seems  tinc- 
tured with  a  rudenses,  in  some  instances  amounting  to 
ferocity,  which  is  very  repulsive. 

Let  no  foreigner,  when  traveling  on  the  western 
waters,  or  indeed,  in  any  part  of  the  U.  S.,  enter  into 
discussions  on  the  slave  question,  unless  he  is  sure 
that  he  is  amongst  friends,  as  the  state  of  excitement, 
particularly  in  the  slave  states,  is  such  that  it  would 
often  be  dangerous  to  support  either  the  abolitionists 
or  their  opponents.  I  have  seen  half  the  passengers  in 
a  boat  very  much  excited,  some  of  them  perfectly  in- 
furiated, on  the  subject  of  slavery;  but  then,  it  very 
conveniently  happened  that  all  were  on  one  side.  One 
man  rose  from  his  seat,  stamping  on  the  floor,  and 
throwing  his  arms  about,  in  a  paroxysm  of  fury 
against  the  abolitionists.  "Who  can  endure  it?"  he 
cried.     "Were  they  not  bought  by  our  money,  or 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  33 

inherited  from  our  fathers?  Are  they  not,  there- 
fore, as  much  our  property  as  anything  else  in  our 
possession?  They  are  not  equal  to  the  white  man, 
but  are  intermediate  between  him  and  the  brute 
creation,  and  were  made  for  the  express  purpose  of 
being  slaves.  I  speak  feelingly,  for  I  have  suffered. 
I  was  a  post -master  in  Alabama.  Some  of  the  gentle- 
men in  my  district  suspected  that  intercourse  by 
letter  was  taking  place  between  that  and  some  other 
part  of  the  country  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  and 
they  requested  me  to  open  suspicious  letters,  which 
I  did,  and  I  still  think  I  did  right,  although  it  cost 
me  my  situation.  Disgusted  at  such  injustice,  I 
determined  on  leaving  the  state,  and  on  going  to 
one  where  there  were  no  slaves.  I  went  to  Indiana, 
but  it  will  not  do,  there  is  no  getting  any  one  to  work, 
no  getting  along.  I  have  sold  all  off,  and  am  now  on 
my  way  back  to  Alabama. ' ' 

Whilst  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  I  here  subjoin  an 
extract  from  an  American  work,  purporting  to  be  im- 
partial in  its  information  on  that  subject.  "As  it 
regards  the  condition  of  slaves  in  the  United  States, 
it  will  be  safe  to  say  that  they  are  generally  well  fed, 
comfortably  clad,  and  not  overwrought  or  unmerci- 
fully chastised.  It  is  in  the  interest  of  all  masters, 
and  the  inclination  of  most,  to  see  that  their  bond- 
men do  not  suffer.  They  have  cabins  of  their  own,  and 
are  usually  allowed  a  day,  or  part  of  a  day,  per  week, 
to  work  for  themselves.  In  sickness  they  are  cared 
for,  and  in  their  old  age,  they  are  not  thrust  forth  to 


34  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

perish.  Many  of  them  are  employed  as  house  serv- 
ants, the  rest  labour  in  the  field  under  overseers,  who 
see  that  they  attend  to  their  business,  and  chastise  the 
idle  or  refractory.  It  is  believed  that  very  many  of 
the  slaves,  perhaps  one  half,  knowing  no  other  condi- 
tion, are  contented  and  happy.  Many  are  ardently 
attached  to  their  masters.  Still,  disguise  it  as  we  will, 
slavery  is  'a  bitter  draught'.  Wherever  one  man  has 
unlimited  power  over  another,  there  is  at  least  a  liabil- 
ity to  abuse  it,  and  hence  the  insurrections  which  have 
disturbed  the  tranquillity  of  the  south  so  often.  Hence 
the  murders  committed  by  masters  upon  slaves,  and 
by  slaves  upon  masters.  Hence  the  enormities  re- 
corded in  every  newspaper.  Hence  the  advertise- 
ments for  run-aways;  and  hence  it  is  that  the  people 
of  South  Carolina  have  built  a  citadel  in  their  capital 
to  which  they  may  fly  for  refuge  in  case  of  insurrec- 
tion. 

"The  evils  to  which  the  whites  are  liable  in  conse- 
quence of  holding  slaves  are  mainly  these  —  insecur- 
ity of  life  and  property,  the  bad  habits  attendant  on 
idleness,  ruin  of  their  lands,  great  expense  with  little 
proportionate  return,  strife  with  their  neighbors,  de- 
pravation of  their  own  and  their  children's  morals. 

"The  evils  to  which  the  slave  is  but  too  subject,  are 
as  follows:  With  the  feelings,  passions,  and  intellect 
of  a  man,  he  is,  in  the  social  system,  a  mere  chattle,  or 
at  best,  a  brute.  He  is  without  the  protection  of  law, 
without  having  committed  any  crime.  He  may  be 
bought  and  sold,  or  given  away,  or  lost  at  a  horse  race 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  35 

or  gambling  table.  He  may  be  scourged  or  tortured, 
as  the  caprice  of  any  white  man  may  dictate,  without 
the  possibility  of  redress.  Husbands  and  wives,  par- 
ents and  children  may  be  torn  asunder,  and  driven 
into  separate  bondage,  whenever  it  so  pleases  their 
owner.  There  is  no  protection  for  the  chastity  of 
woman.  The  slave  can  hold  no  property,  however 
industrious.  He  can  make  no  contracts.  He  cannot 
be  a  party  or  witness  in  any  suit  in  which  a  white  man 
is  concerned,  however  much  he  may  have  been  injured. 
He  cannot  purchase  his  freedom.  In  some  states,  his 
owner  is  not  permitted,  by  law,  to  emancipate  him 
without  the  consent  of  his  creditors,  or  on  condition 
of  sending  him  out  of  the  land.  In  Georgia,  the  mas- 
ter is  punished  for  emancipating.  And  if  a  slave  make 
a  bargain,  he  is  publicly  whipped  for  it ;  at  least,  such 
is  the  law.  The  law  sets  no  limit  to  the  chastisement 
the  slave  may  receive  from  his  master.  In  Georgia 
and  North  Carolina,  if  a  negro  'die  of  moderate  cor- 
rection ',  the  law  bears  the  master  harmless.  In  South 
Carolina,  a  white  who  kills  a  slave  may  purge  himself 
by  his  own  oath.  Slaves  are  forbidden  to  learn  to  read 
and  write,  and  punished  for  disobedience  by  patrols, 
or  officers  appointed  for  the  purpose.  They  may  not 
meet  for  religious  worship,  on  pain  of  being  dispersed 
and  whipped.  Whites  are  fined  and  whipped  for 
teaching  them,  and  in  Louisiana  may  in  some  cases 
be  imprisoned  for  life,  or  put  to  death.  There  are  few 
legal  marriages  of  slaves,  because  the  tie  is  not 
respected.     A  slave  is  punished  with  whipping  for 


36  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

teaching  the  gospel,  and,  in  Virginia,  he  may  be  put 
to  death  for  practicing  medicine.  Such  are  a  portion 
of  the  ills  to  which  the  slave  is  heir,  Perhaps  all  these 
severe  liabilities  may  be  justified  by  necessity  or  expe- 
diency ;  but  that  they  exist,  is  proved  by  the  statutes 
of  all  the  slave-holding  states,  and  cases  under  each 
of  the  above  general  heads  are  of  frequent  occurrence. 
Slaveholders  and  abolitionists  are  at  issue  on  each  and 
every  one  of  them,  and  these  are  a  few  of  the  argu- 
ments adduced  on  both  sides. 

"  'We  acknowledge,'  say  the  former,  'that  slavery 
is  a  foul  blot  on  our  country's  fame,  and  that  it  is 
contrary  to  justice  and  the  law  of  God.  We  deplore 
it  deeply,  but  what  can  we  do?  The  system  was 
entailed  upon  us  by  Great  Britain,  and  we  cannot  get 
rid  of  it.  If  we  set  our  bondmen  free,  they  will  plun- 
der and  murder  us.  Religion  and  education  make 
them  discontented  with  their  condition,  and  therefore 
it  is  unsafe  to  let  them  have  either.  Besides,  were  they 
free,  they  are  so  ignorant  and  lazy,  that  they  neither 
could  nor  would  maintain  themselves;  they  would 
rather  starve  than  work.  We  could  not  do  without 
them,  for  white  men  cannot  sustain  the  heat  of  our 
climate.  If  we  allow  them  to  possess  property,  they 
will  soon  be  our  equals,  and  sharers  in  our  property 
and  soil.  They  are  destitute  of  intelligence,  and  appear 
to  have  been  formed  by  nature  for  servitude.  We 
treat  them  well,  and  they  are  contented.  They  would 
not  accept  freedom,  were  it  offered,  and  they  are  in- 
finitely better  off  than  the  free  labourers  in  the  north- 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  37 

era  states.  If  free,  they  would  amalgamate  with  us. 
Above  all,  they  are  our  property,  guaranteed  to  us  by 
the  constitution,  and  if  you  take  them  from  us,  you 
wrong  us.  You  have  no  right  to  meddle  with  the  mat- 
ter, and  if  you  do,  we  will  secede  from  the  union. ' 

"The  abolitionists  answer,  'If  you  acknowledge 
that  your  conduct  is  unjust  and  disgraceful,  and  dis- 
pleasing to  God,  cease  from  it.  You  ought  to  scorn  to 
hold  an  inheritance  of  sin  and  disgrace  from  Great 
Britain.  If  you  deplore  the  evil,  show  your  sorrow 
by  action.  You  can  get  rid  of  it  if  you  choose.  Your 
slaves  will  not  murder  you  for  doing  them  justice; 
but  they  will  if  you  withold  it.  If  their  ignorance 
makes  them  dangerous,  how  can  religion  and  educa- 
tion have  the  same  effect?  The  experience  of  other 
countries  does  not  justify  you  in  apprehending  any 
danger  from  emancipation.  They  now  maintain  them- 
selves and  you  too ;  surely  they  can  maintain  them- 
selves alone.  In  other  countries  where  negroes  have 
been  emancipated,  they  have  not  starved.  You  say 
you  cannot  work  in  your  country.  Have  you  tried  ? 
If  you  cannot,  you  have  no  business  there.  If  they 
acquire  property  by  their  industry,  why  should  they 
not  have  it?  They  do  so  in  the  north,  and  no  one 
complains.  If  they  are  inferior  to  yourselves  in  intel- 
lect, it  is  no  reason  that  you  should  oppress  them,  but 
rather  the  contrary,  and  the  fact  itself  is  not  proved. 
If  you  treat  them  well  and  they  love  you,  why  do  you 
fear  them?  and  why  do  so  many  run  away?  Offer 
them  freedom,  and  see  if  they  will  not  accept  it.    It  is 


38  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

not  true  that  their  condition  is  preferable,  or  by  any 
means  equal,  to  the  free  labourers  in  the  north.  It  is 
true  that  if  you  give  them  freedom,  they  will  amalga- 
mate with  you,  and  so  they  will  if  they  remain  in 
bondage.  Half  the  people  in  the  United  States  are 
mulattoes  already.  No  constitution,  no  human  law, 
can  authorize  manifest  wrong.  We  have  a  right  to 
advise  you,  and  you  know  better  than  to  secede  from 
the  union. ' 

' '  These  arguments  have  been  extracted  almost  indis- 
criminately from  the  printed  papers  of  both  parties. 
It  is  hard  to  tell  what  judgment  to  form  on  the  mat- 
ter; but  if  a  little  more  forbearance  were  shown  on 
both  sides,  it  would  do  no  harm.  The  question  involves 
so  many  interests,  that  all  the  combined  wisdom  of  the 
nation  might  be  at  a  loss  to  reconcile  them.  May 
Divine  Providence  remove  the  evil  from  our  land 
without  injustice  to  any  one." 

We  left  Wheeling,  and  were  once  more  on  our  way 
down  the  river,  calling  at  almost  every  town  on  the 
route,  receiving  or  landing  passengers  and  freight. 
Some  of  the  towns  are  finely  situated,  though  many  of 
them  may  be  called  towns  in  embryo,  and  all  must 
yield  precedence  to  Cincinnati,  "the  Queen  of  the 
West,"  where  we  arrived  without  meeting  anything 
worthy  of  notice. 

About  half  a  century  ago,  the  place  where  the  city 
now  stands  was  a  wilderness,  without  a  white  inhab- 
itant. In  1813,  it  contained  about  4,000  inhabitants; 
in  1820,  10,000;  in  1830,  24,831;  and  in  1840,  46,382. 

There  is  a  good  deal  of  manufacture  of  various 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  39 

kinds  in  Cincinnati,  and  many  extensive  grist  and 
saw  mills,  worked  by  steam  power.  The  American 
work  formerly  referred  to,  gives  a  list,  amongst  other 
things,  of  "  24  Churches,  the  College,  Athenaeum,  Med- 
ical College,  Mechanic's  Institute,  four  Market 
Houses,  two  Museums,  a  famous  and  tasteless  Bazaar, 
Banks,  Court  House,  etc. ' '  There  are  between  15  and 
20  periodical  publications. 

The  levee  is  high  and  steep,  and  is  one  of  the  best 
on  the  river;  it  is,  however,  exposed  to  the  current, 
which  causes  boats  arriving  and  leaving  frequently 
to  run  foul  of  those  lying  there.  The  river  is  about 
half  a  mile  wide. 

The  country  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cincinnati  is 
populous,  and  there  are  many  fine  farms.  Land  in 
the  immediate  neighborhood  is  very  dear,  and  at  a 
distance  of  five  or  six  miles,  sells  for  40  or  50  dollars 
an  acre.  An  immense  number  of  hogs  are  annually 
slaughtered  in  the  city,  and  shipped  down  the  river 
for  the  southern  states  and  the  West  Indies. 

Louisville,  in  Kentucky,  131  miles  below  Cincinnati, 
is  a  place  of  considerable  commercial  importance,  per- 
haps most  so  of  any  place  on  the  Ohio,  with  a  popula- 
tion of  about  15,000.  It  is  situated  at  the  falls  or 
rapids,  which,  when  the  river  is  low,  obstruct  the 
navigation.  To  obviate  this,  a  canal  two  miles  in 
length  has  been  cut,  which  ensures  a  passage  to  the 
largest  class  of  steamers.  The  river  had  here  risen 
about  fifteen  feet  perpendicular,  owing  to  the  freshet 
which  had  taken  place  after  our  leaving  Pittsburg. 

There  are  few  places  of  much  consequence  between 


40  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 


this  and  the  mouth  of  the  river,  which  now  begins  to 
lose  its  bluffs,  perhaps  from  their  receding  to  such  a 
distance  as  to  be  no  longer  descernable ;  the  view,  of 
consequence,  becomes  less  picturesque,  being  bounded 
on  either  hand  by  a  dark  forest  of  lofty  timber,  and 
the  solitude  is  complete,  nothing  being  heard  save  the 
hoarse  intermittent  roar  of  the  steam  from  the  escape- 
funnel  reverberating  through  the  lifeless  woods  with 
a  wearisome  monotony. 

Farther  up  the  country,  and  whilst  the  river  is  pas- 
sing the  states  of  Virginia  and  Kentucky  on  the  one 
side  and  those  of  Ohio  and  Indiana  on  the  other,  the 
scenery  is  often  very  beautiful,  and  the  boat  glides 
through  the  clear  and  placid  waters,  passing  many 
fair  islands  and  romantic  bluffs.  The  large  alluvial 
bottoms,  teeming  with  fertility,  are  full  of  thriving, 
well-cleared  farms,  and  comfortable-looking  brick 
houses,  with  the  never-failing  accompaniment  of  a 
well-stored  orchard.  Flocks  of  sheep,  particularly  in 
Ohio,  are  seen  grazing  in  the  fields  and  on  the  sloping 
bluffs,  and  the  tinkling  of  the  cow-bell  everywhere 
meets  the  ear.  When  it  can  be  accomplished,  the 
houses  are  often  built  on  the  top  of  the  bluff,  the  situ- 
ation being  considered  healthier  than  in  the  bottom, 
and  many  so  placed  have  fine  meadows  in  front, 
sweeping  down  to  the  margin  of  the  broad  river. 
Plenty  seems  here  to  have  scattered  the  choicest  trea- 
sures of  her  horn. 

Many  of  the  trees  are  very  tall,  and  of  great  size ; 
but  the  sycamore,  the  button  wood  of  the   eastern 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  41 

states,  is  most  conspicuous.  It  thrives  on  the  banks  of 
rivers,  and  is  frequently  seen  on  the  margin,  stretch- 
ing its  giant  arms  over  the  water.  The  bark  of  the 
smaller  limbs  is  a  chalky  white,  mottled  with  pale 
green.  I  was  told  that  one  of  those  trees,  on  an  island 
in  the  Ohio,  measured  upwards  of  13  feet  in  diameter. 

Many  of  the  towns  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio  are 
little  more  than  a  name,  for  which  the  country  is 
indebted  to  the  speculators  in  town  lots,  who,  of 
course,  would  advertise  and  trumpet  forth  the  qualifi- 
cations of  a  town  in  the  moon,  if  there  was  a  chance 
of  selling  any  of  the  lots.  Let  not  the  traveller,  when 
he  looks  at  his  map,  and  sees  the  name  of  some  city 
hallowed  by  antiquity,  be  confident  that  he  will  find  a 
place  realizing  his  ideas  of  the  original.  Most  likely 
there  will  be  a  store  and  spirit  shop,  with  a  bit  of 
board  stuck  up,  on  which  some  one  had  scrawled  the 
word  HOTEL,  apparently  with  his  finger  dipt  in  ink, 
with  one  or  two  log  houses  scattered  along  the  river 's 
bank.  —  Such  were  some  that  I  saw,  and  among  them 
one  bearing  the  honored  name  Caledonia,  consisting 
of  three,  or  at  most  of  four,  wretched  log  huts, 
squeezed  into  a  small  clearing  in  the  forest -wilderness. 
Xo  doubt,  every  earthly  thing  must  have  a  beginning, 
but  some  of  these  towns  are  evidently  ' '  the  beginning 
of  the  end." 

Before  arriving  at  the  mouth,  we  looked  out  anx- 
iously for  the  Father  of  Waters,  but  could  not,  even 
after  we  were  told  he  was  in  sight,  distinguish  him, 
until  we  came  very  near,  and  then  it  was  more  from 


42  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

the  quantity  of  ice  floating  on  his  surface  than  from 
any  local  feature,  that  we  became  aware  of  his  pres- 
ence. —  This  results  from  the  Ohio  gradually  bending, 
particularly  on  the  left  shore,  in  the  direction  of  the 
course  of  the  Mississippi ;  —  one  might  readily  suppose 
it  only  a  bend  in  the  river.  The  place  of  junction  has 
the  appearance  of  a  large  lake ;  and  from  the  landing- 
place,  at  Bird 's  Point,  there  is  a  view  of  seven  or  eight 
miles  down  the  Mississippi,  and  of  nearly  as  much  up 
the  Ohio.  The  Mississippi  is  here  one  mile,  and  the 
Ohio  one  mile  and  three-quarters,  wide. 

As  the  boat  was  bound  for  New  Orleans,  and  I  in- 
tended to  ascend  the  Mississippi,  I  was  set  ashore  to 
wait  for  some  boat  which  should  pass  for  St.  Louis. 
The  appearance  of  the  rivers  was  grand,  but  the  ad- 
juncts were  anything  but  agreeable.  The  place  had  a 
bad  name,  and  certainly  did  not  seem  very  captivating 
or  safe,  from  the  number  of  idle,  vagabond-looking 
boatmen  who  were  strolling  about  its  desolate  shores. 
There  were  some  of  the  crews  of  a  great  number  of 
flat  boats  or  scows,  which  lined  the  shores  of  the  Ohio, 
and  who  durst  not,  with  such  unwieldy  things,  venture 
into  the  ice  on  the  Mississippi.  Fortunately,  there 
were  five  of  us  travelling  the  same  route,  and  as  we 
had  become  in  some  measure  acquainted  during  our 
voyage  down  the  Ohio,  we  felt  the  more  confident. 
"Whilst  we  Watched  the  luggage,  the  rest  went  about  to 
see  if  they  could  procure  accommodation  at  any  place 
besides  the  inn,  as  it  had  anything  but  a  good  charac- 
ter.   We  might  have  saved  ourselves  the  trouble,  how- 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  43 

ever,  as  there  was  no  other  dwelling,  except  a  log  hut, 
full  of  choppers  of  wood  for  the  steamers.  We  walked 
about  the  bank  till  near  dark,  in  the  expectation  of  a 
boat  for  St.  Louis,  or  some  other  town  up  the  Missis- 
sippi, but  night  approached  without  any  boat  appear- 
ing, and  we  reluctantly  had  our  things  carried  to  the 
house,  which  aspired  to  the  distinction  of  a  hotel.  Two 
of  our  party,  however,  found  the  owner  of  a  flat  boat 
whom  they  knew,  and  got  themselves  huddled  into  his 
boat,  amongst  a  cargo  of  horses,  fowls,  yankee  bed- 
posts, etc.  I  looked  down  into  their  den,  and  how  they 
contrived  to  stow  themselves  away  at  night,  along  with 
four  or  five  people  belonging  to  the  boat,  I  do  not  pre- 
tend to  guess.  On  going  into  the  bar-room  of  the  inn, 
I  was  somewhat  surprised  to  find  it  very  much  like  the 
bars  of  other  inns ;  there  were,  to  be  sure,  two  or  three 
strange  outlandish-looking  gentry  sitting  around  the 
stove,  but  such  visions  are  very  frequently  met  with 
in  all  the  taverns  and  boats  on  these  rivers. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  prospect  now  had  become  rather  dreary.  The 
ice  on  the  Mississippi  had  become  so  dense,  that 
it  was  very  doubtful  if  any  boat  would  venture  into 
it;  it  was  certain  that  no  boat,  except  one  of  the 
strongest  and  most  powerful,  would  make  the  attempt, 
and  equally  certain  that  there  would  be  some  danger 
and  risk  of  losing  the  boat.  There  was  no  road  from 
the  point  in  any  direction;  no  such  thing  dreamed 
of  as  a  stage,  nor  so  much  as  a  wagon  for  love  or 
money.  Taking  it  on  foot,  with  a  chance  of  bivouac- 
ing  in  the  woods  for  two  or  three  nights,  was  the 
only  chance  of  getting  away.  To  be  sure,  the  land- 
lord had  a  horse,  which  he  very  politely  offered  us  for 
three  times  its  value,  but  when  he  "obnoxiously  made 
his  approaches,"  we  declined  the  proffered  favour. 
All  went  on  very  well  till  a  short  time  after  supper, 
when,  as  we  were  sitting  in  the  bar-room,  two  men, 
Kentucks,  came  in;  one  of  them  desiring  to  write  a 
letter,  the  other,  as  ugly  a  fellow  as  I  ever  saw,  stand- 
ing by.  The  scribe  had  scarcely  commenced,  when 
the  landlord  went  up  to  him,  and  enquired  if  he  was 
not  the  person  who  had  lately  insulted  him  in  the 
woodyard.  The  Kentuck  denied  that  he  had  done 
anything  to  insult  him.  ' '  Do  you  not  reckon  it  an  in- 
sult, sir,"  said  the  landlord,  a  tall,  thin  fellow  with  an 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  45 

agueish  look,  and  a  dreadful  cough,  "to  moor  your 
flat  boat  at  my  wood-yard,  where  you  have  no  right  to 
bring  it,  and  when  I  merely  mentioned  it  to  you,  and 
cautioned  you  that  you  might  get  your  boat  staved 
by  some  of  the  steamers  which  came  to  the  yard  for 
firewood,  do  you  call  it  no  insult  to  threaten  to  put  a 
bullet  through  me  ?  If  it  had  not  been  that  I  was 
alone  sir,  I  would  have  pitched  you  into  the  river." 
"Well,  sir  —  now,  sir,"  edged  in  the  little  Kentuck, 
1 '  hear  me,  sir,  will  you,  sir,  give  us  the  usage  of  a  gen- 
tleman, sir,  —  speak  to  us  as  one  gentlemen  ought 
to  speak  to  another,  sir."  "Yes,  sir,  treat  us  like 
gentlemen,  sir,  —  treat  us  genteely,"  etc.  etc.,  said 
the  tall,  ugly  Kentuck.  After  an  immense  deal  of 
palaver,  and  the  most  horrible  swearing  on  both  sides, 
for  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  the  writer  tore  his  let- 
ter to  pieces,  saying  he  found  this  no  place  for  gentle- 
men, that  he  would  disdain  to  stay  in  it  any  longer, 
and  that  he  would  report  the  landlord 's  behavior,  and 
do  all  in  his  power  to  injure  his  custom.  The  brawl 
had  now  come  to  such  a  height,  and  there  was  so  much 
gesticulation,  that  I  looked  every  moment  for  the  long 
knives,  which  are  very  generally  carried,  and  had  ser- 
ious apprehensions  that  the  fray  would  end  in  blood- 
shed. The  Kentucks  had  been  gradually  retreating 
towards  the  door,  on  attaining  which,  they  said  some- 
what I  did  not  hear,  but  which  so  enraged  our  land- 
lord, that  he  rushed  after  them  in  the  dark,  and  such 
a  shrieking  and  shouting  arose,  that  I  thought  some 
of  them  had  got  stabbed,  particularly  when  one  cried 


46  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

murder.  There  had  been  no  harm  done,  however,  but 
the  affair  did  not  look  much  better  when  the  landlord 
came  into  the  bar-room,  took  up  his  rifle  and  carefully 
examined  the  priming,  and  the  bar-keeper  and  he  be- 
gan hastily  to  load  two  or  three  other  guns  and  some 
pistols.  The  Kentucks,  having  been  joined  by  their 
companions,  at  the  boat,  now  commenced  shouting  and 
firing  guns  in  bravado,  to  see,  as  I  understood,  if  they 
could  induce  their  opponents  to  come  out  and  have  a 
regular  battle ;  our  landlord,  however,  merely  went  to 
the  door  and  fired  off  a  pistol,  to  let  them  know  that 
he  was  prepared  for  them.  Nothing  more  took  place, 
and  in  a  short  time  all  was  quiet. 

Next  morning  (it  was  Sunday)  when  I  awoke,  the 
sun  was  just  rising  over  the  forest  of  Kentucky,  and 
through  two  windows  on  opposite  sides  of  the  room,  I 
could  lie  in  my  bed  and  look  out  on  the  two  mighty 
rivers,  The  Ohio  glittering  in  the  rays  of  the  sun,  and 
studded  with  immense  quantities  of  driftwood,  and 
the  Father  of  Waters  covered  with  an  almost  entire 
mass  of  ice,  moving  steadily  along  with  a  sort  of  mys- 
terious hurtling  noise,  the  dense,  dark  forest  lining 
the  distant  shore  of  each.  There  was  the  stillness  of 
death,  save  that  sound  proceeding  from  the  ice-clad 
river,  and  now  and  then  the  report  of  a  gun,  rolling 
on  till  lost  in  the  woods. 

The  boatmen  of  the  numerous  flat-boats  were  mostly 
provided  with  guns,  and  shot  duck  on  the  river,  or 
went  to  the  woods  to  shoot  deer,  which  were  in  great 
abundance,  particularly  on  the  Kentucky  side  of  the 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  47 


Ohio.  After  breakfast,  the  whole  forest  far  and  near 
seemed  to  be  alive  with  men,  cracking  and  shooting  in 
all  directions ;  its  being  Sunday,  not  seeming  to  influ- 
ence in  the  slightest  degree  these  almost  lawless  deni- 
zens of  the  wilderness. 

There  was,  on  this  day,  an  occurrence  at  Bird's 
point,  which  I  was  inclined  to  suspect  would  not  be 
frequent.  A  priest,  of  what  persuation  I  know  not, 
happened  to  be  among  us,  who,  having  intimated  a  de- 
sire to  preach,  was  permitted  by  the  landlord  to 
occupy  a  room  in  the  hotel.  A  considerable  number, 
I  think  about  thirty,  attended,  and  it  was  strange  to 
look  around  on  the  rough,  weather-beaten,  and,  in 
some  instances,  savage-looking  faces  of  the  hearers. 
The  preacher  delivered  a  very  appropriate  and  sen- 
isble    discourse. 

Another  day  passed  in  tedious  expectation.  The 
frost  having  become  less  intense,  and  the  influence  of 
the  sun  being  very  considerable,  so  much  so,  indeed, 
that  some  of  the  people  walked  about  through  the 
day  with  their  coats  off,  the  ice  had  grown  somewhat 
thinner.  It  takes  a  severe  frost  to  preserve  the  ice 
from  being  thawed  before  it  reaches  this  latitude,  37° 
north.  This  day  two  boats  came  down  the  Mississippi 
from  St.  Louis,  and  their  report  of  the  difficulty 
and  danger  of  coming  down  made  our  case  almost 
hopeless.  The  boats  had  come  in  company  all  the 
way,  the  one  in  the  wake  of  the  other,  and  that  which 
had  sailed  foremost  had  not  a  board  left  on  her  paddle 
wheels.     When  there  was  such  difficulty  in  getting 


48  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

down,  it  may  easily  be  conceived  that  there  would  be 
still  greater  difficulty  in  ascending  against  a  current 
of  five  or  six  miles  an  hour. 

A  boat  came  up  the  river  from  New  Orleans,  for 
Cincinnati,  whose  report  rather  revived  us  again,  as 
she  had  been  able,  though  with  considerable  difficulty, 
to  make  way  against  the  ice,  which,  however,  was 
thinner  below  than  above  the  junction  of  the  rivers. 
There  was  no  ice  on  the  Ohio.  This  boat  told  us  of 
one  which  we  might  expect  in  a  few  hours,  on  her  way 
to  St.  Louis ;  but  night  came,  and  no  boat. 

This  must  be  a  very  unhealthy  place,  as  it  lies  so 
low,  that  when  the  Mississippi  rises  in  June,  from  the 
melting  of  the  snow  on  the  Rocky  Mountains,  it  over- 
flows almost  every  foot  of  land,  all  around,  far  into  the 
forest,  and  on  the  Mississippi,  at  frequent  intervals, 
for  about  30  miles  up  the  river.  The  inn  is  set  upon 
posts  of  seven  or  eight  feet  high,  and  is  placed  on  the 
highest  spot  of  ground  in  the  neighborhood,  and  a 
sort  of  gangway,  also  raised  on  posts,  and  cross  logs, 
connects  the  house  and  store,  at  which  is  the  landing 
place  for  passengers  and  goods,  when  the  water  is 
high.  The  landing  is  on  the  Ohio,  the  Mississippi 
being  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  inn. 

To  those  who  do  not  know  the  locality,  it  may 
appear  singular,  that  there  is  no  town  on  this  point  — 
a  fact,  however,  of  itself  sufficient  to  indicate  the  im- 
practicability of  such  undertaking.  No  doubt  a  town 
might  be  built,  but  the  whole  point  is  composed  of  an 
alluvion  so  very  friable,  that  if  the  Mississippi,  in  one 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  49 

of  his  ordinary  freaks,  were  to  change  his  course,  the 
whole  affair  might  be  swept  away  in  a  few  days.  Some 
may  think  of  embankments,  but  that  is  a  dream  —  the 
baseless  fabric  of  a  vision.  For  a  long  way  up  the 
river  there  is  no  shore,  but  a  perpendicular  mud  bank, 
which  is  constantly  being  undermined  and  tumbled 
into  the  river;  besides,  the  whole  point  is  liable  to 
periodical  inundation. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day  (Christmas)  the 
long-looked-for  boat  arrived,  and  we  were  gratified 
to  hear  her  captain  say  he  was  determined  to  proceed. 
So  much  time,  however,  was  put  off  in  fixing  some 
trees  to  the  bows  of  the  boat,  to  ward  off  the  ice,  that 
night  approached,  and  the  captain  thought  proper  not 
to  venture  into  the  ice  till  next  morning. 

Early  next  morning  we  started.  A  considerable 
number  of  people  had  collected  on  the  extreme  point 
to  witness  the  attempt.  It  certainly  was  with  some 
anxiety  that  we  saw  the  bows  of  the  boat  enter  the 
ice,  and  the  shaking  and  agitation  caused  by  the  strik- 
ing of  the  paddles  on  the  large  pieces,  were  very  con- 
siderable; we  found,  however,  that  the  boat  could 
make  way,  though  slowly,  and  in  a  short  time  nobody 
seemed  to  care  much  about  it. 

The  Mississippi  very  much  differs  from  the  Ohio  in 
its  natural  features.  There  is  a  solitary  desolation 
that  strikes  one  with  a  sense  of  melancholy.  Its 
turbid  and  heavily  boiling  appearance  —  the  ruinous 
banks,  constantly  tumbling  in  along  with  quantities 
of  trees,  —  the  low,  swampy  character  of  much  of  the 


50  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

country  on  each  side  —  the  enormous  quantities  of 
driftwood,  jammed  and  piled  high  on  the  upper  points 
of  the  numerous  islands  —  the  uninteresting  sameness 
and  apparent  instability  of  these  islands,  —  the  total 
want  of  everything  like  the  marks  of  civilization,  ex- 
cept at  wide  intervals,  and  then  a  poor  log  hut,  looking 
insignificant  amid  the  mightiness  of  the  silent  forest, 
with  a  few  individuals  crawling  about  with  listless 
sickly  countenances,  apparently  uninterested  by  any- 
thing under  the  sun,  and  the  idea  that  they  may  be 
the  very  refuse  of  humanity,  driven  from  the  bosom 
of  society  on  account  of  their  crimes,  originate  any- 
thing but  pleasant  sensations.  There  is  a  grandeur, 
but  it  is  a  grandeur  of  desolation. 

In  trying  to  avoid  the  ice,  the  pilot  ran  the  boat 
aground ;  she  was  got  off,  however,  after  a  short  time. 
Not  long  after,  we  ran  bump  against  a  snag,  which 
made  the  boat  reel  again,  and  as  a  climax,  before 
many  hours  we  were  aground  again,  firm  and  fast, 
and  lay  a  long  time,  in  spite  of  all  exertions  to  get  off. 
The  wheels  were  backed  with  all  the  power  of  the 
engine,  some  combustible  matter  being  thrown  into 
the  furnaces,  and  all  the  passengers  were  mustered  on 
the  storm  deck,  and  marched  from  one  side  to  the 
other,  in  order  to  loosen  her  hold  on  the  mud.  —  After 
puffing  and  blowing  till  I  thought  they  would  blow 
her  up,  the  boat  was  at  length  got  off.  In  a  short 
time  the  ice  began  to  get  thinner,  and  we  got  on  very 
well. 

The  shores  of  the  river,  wherever  they  have  been 
gaining  a  little,  as  at  the  slack  parts  of  the  bends,  are 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  51 

fringed  with  a  dense  growth  of  cottonwood  of  age 
and  height  corresponding  with  the  age  of  the  deposit ; 
the  heavy  trunks  and  limbs  of  the  ancient  forest  tow- 
ering above  them  in  the  background.  Some  of  the 
newer  islands  are  covered,  almost  entirely,  with  cot- 
tonwood, the  trees  decreasing  towards  the  shores,  till 
they  become  merely  switches.  The  cottonwood,  when 
young,  very  much  resembles  Italian  poplar. 

I  here  saw,  for  the  first  time,  the  bald-headed,  or 
rather  white-headed  eagle ;  two  or  three  of  these  birds 
being  collected,  with  a  number  of  Turkey  buzzards, 
about  some  carrion  on  the  shore  of  the  river. 

The  towns  on  this  part  of  the  Mississippi  are  few, 
and  very  small,  mostly  consisting  of  a  store  and  a  few 
houses.  There  is  great  difficulty  in  getting  sites  for 
towns,  and  advantage  is  always  taken  of  some  rocky, 
or  otherwise  durable  highland ;  the  treacherous  nature 
of  the  flats,  or  bottoms,  from  their  liability  to  the 
encroachments  of  the  river,  rendering  it  unsafe  to 
build  there. 

The  river  now  became  narrow,  with  bluffs  consist- 
ing, in  some  places,  of  one  continuous  mass  of  lime- 
stone of  between  two  and  three  hundred  feet  high.  At 
one  place,  where  the  bluffs  are  nearly  perpendicular 
on  both  sides,  there  remain  in  the  river  two  huge 
masses  of  rock,  one  of  which  reminded  me  of  the  rock 
on  which  Dunbarton  Castle  stands ;  it  is  called  Grand 
Tower.  —  It  is  reported  that  an  old  soldier,  whose 
daughter  had  died  on  one  of  the  boats,  selected  the 
top  of  this  rock  for  a  burying  place. 

A  short  way  above  this,  and  near  the  mouth  of  the 


UBKARV 

UNiVERSfTY  OF  ftlMQg' 


52  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

Kaskaskia,  or  Okau  river,  is  the  town  of  Chester,  in 
Illinois,  where  the  Mississippi  is  said  to  be  narrower 
than  at  any  place  between  that  and  New  Orleans,  a 
distance  of  1,137  miles.  A  measurement  was  taken  in 
1837,  when  the  river  was  frozen  over,  and  the  width 
was  found  to  be  840  yards.  The  appearance  of  the 
water  indicates  great  depth. 

We  at  length  arrived  at  the  landing  to  which  we 
had  been  directing  our  course,  and  certainly  never 
dreamed  that  any  place  so  utterly  insignificant  could 
have  sent  its  name  so  far  over  the  world.  I  never  for 
a  moment  doubted  that  there  would  be,  at  least,  a  few 
houses  and  an  inn  at  the  landing  of  a  place  so  old  as 
Kaskaskia;  but  there  was  not  even  a  tavern  of  the 
most  wretched  description.  The  boat  was  run  in 
against  the  bank,  a  plank  run  out,  our  luggage  tum- 
bled ashore,  the  order  given  to  go  on,  and  here  my 
companion  and  I  were  left ;  the  sun  just  sinking  over 
the  woods  of  Missouri,  and  darkness  coming  on  apace. 
—  After  clambering  along  the  broken  and  muddy 
edge  of  the  river,  till  plastered  almost  up  to  the  knees, 
I  succeeded  in  getting  up  the  precipitous  clay  bank 
to  level  ground,  when  I  saw  two  young  men  standing 
at  no  great  distance  besides  a  roofless  hut.  I  made 
my  way  through  a  complete  smash  of  huge  logs,  broken 
limbs  and  brush,  and,  after  accosting  the  elder  of  the 
two,  enquired  if  I  could  have  my  luggage  conveyed 
to  Kaskaskia.  He  engaged  to  take  it,  and  set  about 
getting  two  horses  put  to  a  small  waggon.  Whilst  this 
was  doing,  I  stepped  into  the  roofless  hut  to  warm 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  53 

myself  at  the  fire.  After  some  conversation  with  a 
woman  and  a  boy,  I  found  they  were  a  family  going 
from  Peoria,  in  Illinois,  to  Missouri,  and  that  not  hav- 
ing been  able  to  get  across  the  Mississippi,  on  account 
of  the  ice,  they  had  taken  up  their  quarters  in  this 
deserted  hovel.  The  woman  had  a  dreadful  cold,  and 
looked  very  wretched.  In  a  few  minutes  the  horses 
were  hitched  to,  and  away  we  drove  along  a  very 
rough  track,  just  as  night  had  set  in.  There  is  a  very 
short  space  between  sundown  and  dark  in  these  lati- 
tudes, and  we  had  not  proceeded  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
till  it  was  dark  as  midnight,  and  nothing  to  be  seen 
except  the  huge  limbs  of  the  trees  between  us  and  the 
clear  frosty  sky.  We  soon  got  out  of  the  woods,  and 
entered  on  the  extensive  clearing  which  surrounds 
Kaskaskia,  and  saw  the  lights  of  that  place  in  the 
distance,  and  on  arriving,  after  some  delay  occasioned 
by  driving  up  and  down  this  scattered  place  in  the 
dark,  our  driver  being  a  stranger,  we  succeeded  in 
reaching  the  hotel. 

Kaskaskia,  the  seat  of  justice  for  Randolph  County, 
although  one  of  the  oldest  towns  in  the  west,  has 
ceased  to  be  of  much  importance,  and  seems  to  be  in 
a  state  of  decay.  It  was  settled  by  the  French  in 
1685,  and  was  the  capital  of  the  district  so  long  as  the 
people  continued  in  possession  of  the  country.  The 
town  is  built  on  an  isthmus  of  about  three  miles  wide, 
formed  by  the  Mississippi  and  Kaskaskia  rivers,  and 
is  situated  on  the  right  bank  of  the  latter,  about  seven 
miles  above  its  embochure.    There  is  a  court  house,  a 


54  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

Koman  catholic  church,  a  nunnery,  and  a  land-office 
for  the  sale  of  public  lands.  The  population  is  said 
once  to  have  been  seven  thousand,  but  is  now  about 
one  thousand,  and  is  largely  mixed  with  half-breed 
French,  a  race  of  people  remarkable  for  little  besides 
indolence.  The  situation  of  Kaskaskia  is  very  beauti- 
ful. The  peninsula  between  the  town  and  the  junc- 
tion of  the  rivers,  constitutes  the  lower  extremity  of 
the  famous  American  Bottom,  which  is  upwards  of 
80  miles  long,  and  is  said  to  comprise  an  area  of  450 
square  miles.  There  is  a  herd  of  wild  horses  on  the 
peninsula,  which  are  considered  the  property  of  the 
town;  numbers  of  them  are  caught,  and  broken,  and, 
though  not  handsome,  they  are  said  to  be  most  dur- 
able. 

I  was  not  a  little  amused  to  see  hanging,  in  the  bar- 
room of  the  hotel,  a  splendid  plan  of  an  extensive  city 
.  of  the  name  of  Downingville,  with  churches,  public 
buildings,  squares,  etc.,  complete,  and  which,  on  en- 
quiry, I  found  was  no  other  than  an  imaginary  city 
of  that  wretched  place,  Kaskaskia  Landing.  This  is 
one  of  the  schemes  of  the  speculator  in  town  lots. 

People  in  this  country  go  early  to  bed  and  rise 
early,  the  breakfast  hour  being  eight  o'clock,  when  a 
bell  is  rung,  and  all  who  may  happen  to  be  at  the 
hotel  at  the  time  must  attend,  or  run  the  risk  of  los- 
ing their  breakfast;  it  is  the  same  with  other  meals, 
dinner  being  about  twelve,  and  supper  (as  it  is 
termed)  about  five  o'clock.  There  is,  mostly,  great 
abundance  of  food  on  the  table,  and,  in  the  west,  cof- 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  55 

fee  of  execrable  quality  is  generally  met  with  at  all 
meals;  a  lady  of  the  establishment  pours  it  out  at  a 
side  table,  and  waiters  hand  it  to  the  guests.  Coffee 
and  tea  are,  not  unfrequently,  presented  without 
either  sugar  or  cream.  Tea  is  not  much  used,  and 
when  met  with,  is  almost  invariably  hyson  of  indiffer- 
ent quality. 

We  remained  two  nights  at  Kaskaskia.  The  second 
night,  on  going  up  stairs  to  bed,  we  found  a  company, 
consisting  of  the  landlord,  a  judge  of  the  county,  a 
surveyor,  and  two  or  three  of  the  boarders,  in  the 
bedroom,  playing  cards.  Money  changed  hands  rap- 
idly in  a  game  somewhat  like  brag.  After  looking  on 
for  some  time,  and  seeing  no  likelihood  of  the  com- 
pany breaking  up,  we  went  to  bed  and  fell  asleep 
among  the  noise  and  conversation  common  on  such 
occasions.  Just  before  I  dropt  asleep  my  half -consci- 
ous eye  caught  a  vision  of  the  judge  tumbling  into 
bed  with  his  clothes  on. 

Next  morning,  we  got  a  waggon  to  take  us  and  our 
luggage  to  Plum  Prairie,  about  18  miles  east  of  Kas- 
kaskia. We  crossed  the  Kaskaskia,  or  Okau,  as  it  is 
here  termed,  by  a  ferry,  on  a  brilliant  December  morn- 
ing. The  amphitheatre  of  woods  and  bluffs,  in  which 
the  town  is  embosomed,  though  in  its  winter  garb, 
looked  magnificent.  The  towering,  ancient  bluffs  of 
the  Mississippi,  laved  by  the  placid  Okau,  and  in 
some  parts  precipitous,  in  others  clothed  with  a  rich 
profusion  of  forest  trees  and  underwood,  bounded  the 
view  to  the  east ;  all  other  points  were  bounded  by  the 


56  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

lofty  dark  forest,  whilst  a  few  clumps  and  scattered 
trees  gave  a  park-like  appearance  to  the  scene.  A 
number  of  beautiful  blue  jays  were  flitting  about. 
There  was  not  a  cloud  nor  a  breath  of  air. 

After  a  hard  pull  up  the  bluff,  which  may  be  about 
300  feet  high,  we  had  some  glimpses  over  a  great  ex- 
tent of  country  clad  with  forest,  and  apparently  lower 
than  our  point  of  view ;  but  I  afterwards  noticed  that 
the  country  does  frequently  fall  away  from  the  bank 
of  the  bluffs,  for  a  considerable  distance  into  the  inte- 
rior. Proceeding  on  a  track  through  the  woods,  for  a 
distance  of  10  miles,  we  at  length  became  aware  that 
we  were  approaching  the  prairie,  and  having  passed 
one  or  two  openings  of  small  size,  entered  on  one, 
which,  though  not  of  great  extent,  possessed  the  char- 
acteristics of  that  peculiar  feature  of  the  west.  Almost 
all  the  descriptions  that  I  have  seen  fail  to  convey  to  a 
European  any  accurate  idea  of  the  prairie.  In  Eng- 
land, the  term  is  rendered  meadow,  and  is  applied  to  a 
particular  kind  of  grass  land;  but  in  America,  the 
term  is  applied  to  land  of  every  quality  and  situation, 
if  naturally  denuded  of  trees.  Meadow,  in  Britain, 
is,  likewise,  associated  with  a  verdant,  close-grassed 
turf,  which  completely  hides  the  soil,  even  when 
cropped  by  cattle;  whereas  the  prairie,  if  naturally 
bare,  has  a  sterile  appearance,  and  the  richest  of  it, 
which  mostly  carries  a  rank  vegetation  of  grass  or 
weeds,  never  at  any  time  appears  turfy,  or,  to  use  a 
Scotch  word  more  expressive  than  any  English  one  I 
know,  baitle.     Where  the  prairie  has  been  burnt  in 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  57 

the  fall,  the  first  appearance  of  the  grass  in  spring  is 
exceedingly  like  the  braird  of  wheat.  The  prairie 
grasses  are  few  in  number,  and  deep  rooted,  a  circum- 
stance which  secures  them  from  being  destroyed  by 
the  annual  conflagrations,  and,  though  coarse,  they 
fatten  cattle  and  horses  in  a  very  short  time.  This, 
no  doubt,  may  in  some  measure  proceed  from  the 
unlimited  range  affording  a  constant  supply  of  un- 
touched vegetation.  Prairie  does  not  bear  much 
eating,  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  settlements, 
where  a  considerable  number  of  cattle  is  kept,  be- 
comes, to  use  a  common  expression,  "eat  out,"  when, 
if  the  land  is  rich,  a  few  grasses,  differing  in  kind  from 
those  previously  grown,  with  an  enormous  quantity 
of  weeds,  spring  up ;  when  poor  lands  are  eat  out, 
they  become  nearly  bare.  The  grasses  continue  green 
till  frost  in  the  fall,  when  they  die  quite  down  to  the 
earth,  affording  not  the  slightest  symptom  of  vegeta- 
tion till  spring.  On  the  untouched  prairies,  the  grass 
grows  to  a  height  of  three  or  four  feet,  mixed,  on  the 
rich  flats,  with  weeds,  which  sometimes  usurp  nearly 
the  whole  surface,  and  are  so  tall  that  an  army  of 
men  on  horseback  might  easily  be  concealed  amongst 
them.  Much  has  been  said  of  the  flowers  "of  every 
scent  and  hue"  on  the  prairie,  but  I  must  say,  that 
although  I  saw  plenty  of  weeds,  I  saw  very  few  flowers 
of  great  beauty,  and  whilst  yellow  is  the  prevailing 
hue,  the  word  scent,  if  it  means  anything  fine,  must 
be  taken  as  a  poetical  license. 

Illinois  is  free  from  anything  deserving  the  name 


58  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

of  hills ;  there  are,  however,  very  considerable  inequal- 
ities, occasioned  by  the  cutting  down  of  the  water- 
courses, and  the  surface  of  the  prairie  is  frequently 
what  is  termed  rolling,  displaying  a  succession  of  easy 
swells,  which  at  a  short  distance  assume  the  appear- 
ance of  an  even  surface,  and  the  stranger  is  often 
startled  by  the  appearance  of  a  herd  of  cattle  or 
horses,  as  it  were,  rising  out  of  the  earth,  or  quietly 
grazing,  where  a  minute  before  his  eye  had  wandered 
over  the  unvaried  ocean  of  grass. 

Prairie  consists  of  almost  every  variety  of  soil,  from 
a  rich  impalpable  loam  to  sterile  gravel  or  sand;  I 
believe  there  is  little  of  the  latter  description  in  Illi- 
nois. The  rolling  is  generally  the  best;  that  feature 
evidently  being  the  cause  of  the  superiority,  as  it 
facilitates  the  drainage  of  the  surface  of  the  country, 
and  induces  a  more  abundant  growth  and  deposit  of 
vegetable  matter.  The  flat  prairie  is  apt  to  be  wet,  or, 
as  the  natives  term  it,  slashy,  if  not  connected  with 
some  watercourse,  by  which  the  water  may  escape, 
on  the  subsidence  of  the  spring  freshets ;  and  on  being 
suddenly  dried  by  the  sun,  at  the  commencement  of 
summer,  is  so  hardened  as  to  produce  little  grass,  and 
on  that  account,  is  less  liable  to  be  run  over  by  the 
annual  forest  fires,  and  is  deprived  of  the  rich  black 
deposit,  which,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  is  the  result  of 
these  visitations.  As  a  general  rule,  the  higher  the 
prairie  is,  the  better  is  the  soil. 

Prairies  are  to  be  met  with  of  all  sizes,  from  a  few 
acres,  to  twelve  miles  across,  and  the  traveller,  on 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  59 

entering  some  of  the  larger  ones,  sees  in  some  direc- 
tions the  forest,  a  dark  line  along  the  verge  of  the 
horizon,  whilst  in  others  the  view  is  bounded  only  by 
the  powers  of  vision.  I  have  heard  some  estimated  at 
fifty  miles  long.  A  large  extent  of  the  surface  of 
Illinois  consists  of  prairie,  interrupted  at  intervals  by 
the  stripes  of  timber,  which  are  found  almost  invar- 
iably to  accompany  the  watercourses.  These  stripes, 
however,  do  not  by  any  means  follow  the  windings  of 
the  rivers  with  undeviating  accuracy  as  regards 
width;  on  the  contrary,  they  shoot  out  extensive 
groves  and  spurs,  varying  and  greatly  adding  to  the 
beauty  of  the  landscape.  Generally  speaking,  where 
watercourses  are  frequent,  the  forest  prevails ;  and  the 
large  prairies  indicate  districts  removed  from  the 
effects  of  moisture. 

It  is,  perhaps,  unnecessary  in  a  work  like  this, 
even  if  I  possessed  the  requisite  qualifications,  to 
enter  into  the  subject  of  the  formation  of  the  prairies. 
I  may  state,  however,  that  those  of  the  southern  part 
of  Illinois  appeared  to  me  to  have  been  produced  by 
a  deposit,  which  had  been  made  in  comparatively 
tranquil  water,  as  it  consists  of  very  fine  calcereous 
clay,  in  some  places  mixed  with  sand  and  gravel,  the 
latter  mostly  about  the  size  of  peas  or  small  beans.  I 
never  saw  a  stone  on  the  surface,  although  I  have  seen 
a  few  of  considerable  size  in  the  channels  of  the  creeks 
and  branches,  and  which  did  not  belong  to  the  neigh- 
borhood. The  uniformity  in  the  level  of  the  most 
elevated    parts,    except    in    some    solitary    instances, 


60  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

which,  from  their  peculiar  formation,  appear  to  have 
been  islands,  may  surely  be  esteemed  of  some  weight, 
in  the  presumption  that  the  country  has  at  one  time 
formed  the  bottom  of  a  lake.  It  may  be  asked,  why 
there  are  such  inequalities  in  its  surface  —  why  it  is 
not  a  dead  level,  if  it  formed  the  bottom  of  a  lake? 
Many  of  the  inequalities  have  evidently  been  caused 
by  the  watercourses,  and  who  shall  say  how  and  where 
the  waters  ran,  before  they  succeeded  in  scooping  out 
the  present  vallies  (valleys)  f  They  might  meander 
and  change  their  courses  over  the  entire  surface  of 
what  would  constitute  a  muddy  plain,  and  scoop  out 
a  number  of  temporary  channels,  which,  as  the  level 
was  lowered,  would  gradually  be  abandoned  for  one 
course.  From  the  general  appearance  of  the  country, 
I  think  it  is  not  at  all  unlikely  that  the  basin  of  the 
lake  had  been  nearly  filled  up  by  the  immense  quantity 
of  matter  brought  down  by  the  waters  at  present  con- 
stituting the  Missouri  and  Mississippi. 

The  Niagara,  or  dam  of  this  supposed  lake,  or  body 
of  lakes,  seems  to  have  been  at  Grand  Tower  (six  or 
seven  miles  above  the  mouth  of  Big  Muddy  river), 
where  the  Mississippi  is  confined  between  very  high 
rocks,  in  many  places  perpendicular.  —  Now,  looking 
y  at  Colton  and  Company's  map  of  Illinois,  in  which 
the  prairies  are  accurately  indicated,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  Grand  Tower  is  their  southern  limit.  When 
the  country  is  so  level  that  a  rise  of  ten  feet  on  the 
Mississippi  dams  back  the  Okau  upwards  of  twenty 
miles,  it  may  be  readily  conceived  that  an  elevation  of 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  61 

some  hundreds  of  feet  would  inundate  an  immense 
tract  of  country. 

The  barrier  at  Grand  Tower  certainly  will  not 
account  for  all  the  very  extensive  prairies  in  the 
Mississippi  Valley,  but  it  may  perhaps  account  for 
those  in  its  more  immediate  neighborhood,  since  it 
might  still  retain  a  large  body  of  water,  after  the 
surface  of  the  North  American  continent  had  emerged 
from  the  state  of  inundation  to  which  it  has  evidently 
been  very  generally  exposed. 

The  question  of  the  prairies  having  no  timber  upon 
them,  is,  I  think,  nearly  set  at  rest,  if  we  allow  that 
they  had  formed  the  bottom  of  a  lake  or  lakes,  whose 
waters  were  somewhat  suddenly  drained  away.  The 
exposed  surface  would  be  the  depository  of  a  variety 
of  winged  seeds  of  weeds  and  grass,  and  it  is  natural 
to  suppose  that  a  rank  vegetation  of  such  products 
would  ensue  long  before  the  heavier  seeds  of  trees  had 
advanced  any  considerable  distance.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  suppose  that  man  existed  at  the  period  alluded 
to,  in  order  to  account  for  the  periodical  fires,  for  I 
have  heard  it  affirmed  by  people  of  veracity,  that, 
independently  of  human  agency,  the  prairie  is  fre- 
quently set  on  fire  by  lightning;  and  when  we  know 
that  hay  and  straw  are  readily  set  on  fire  by  that 
fluid,  we  may  admit  that  a  thick  crop  of  prairie  grass, 
rendered  almost  as  susceptible  as  tinder  by  the  clear 
dry  autumn  of  the  climate,  may  be  ignited  by  the 
same  means.1 


i  There  is  not  sufficient  proof  that  the  country  was  inhabited 


62  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

That  the  annual  conflagrations  have  prevented  the 
growth  of  timber  on  the  prairies,  is  clearly  proved  by 

before  the  deposition  of  alluvion  constituting  the  present  sur- 
face. I  may  mention,  however,  that  Mr.  Caleb  Atwater  states 
that  he  is  "credibly  informed,  that  in  digging  a  well  in  Cin- 
cinnati, in  this  state  (Ohio),  an  arrowhead  was  found  more 
that  ninety  feet  below  the  surface.  At  Pickaway  Plains,  whilst 
several  persons  were  digging  a  well,  several  years  since,  a  human 
skeleton  was  found  seventeen  feet  six  inches  below  the  surface. 
This  skeleton  was  seen  by  several  persons,  and  among  others, 
by  Dr.  Daniel  Turney,  an  eminent  surgeon:  that  all  concurred 
in  the  belief  that  it  belonged  to  a  human  being.  Pickaway 
Plains  are,  or  rather  were,  a  large  prairie,  before  the  land  was 
improved  by  its  present  inhabitants.  This  tract  is  alluvial  to 
a  great  depth;  greater  probably,  than  the  earth  has  ever  been 
perforated,  certainly  than  it  ever  has  been  by  the  hand  of  man. 
The  surface  of  the  plain  is  at  least  one  hundred  feet  above  the 
highest  freshet  of  the  Scioto  river  near  which  it  lies.  On  the 
surface  is  a  black  vegetable  mould  from  three  to  six  and  nine 
feet  in  depth;  then  we  find  pebbles  and  shells  embedded  among 
them :  the  pebbles  are  evidently  rounded  and  smoothed  by  attri- 
tion in  water,  exactly  such  as  we  now  see  at  the  bottom  of 
rivers,  ponds,  and  lakes. 

"I  have  examined  the  spot  where  this  skeleton  was  found, 
and  am  persuaded  that  it  was  not  deposited  there  by  the  hand 
of  man;  but  the  earth  and  pebbles  appear  to  lie  in  the  very 
position  in  which  they  were  deposited  by  the  water.  On  the 
north  side  of  a  small  stream,  called  Hargus  Creek,  which  at 
this  place  empties  itself  into  the  Scioto,  in  digging  through  a 
hill  composed  of  such  pebbles  as  I  have  described  in  Pickaway 
Plains,  at  least  nine  feet  below  the  surface,  several  human 
skeletons  were  discovered,  perfect  in  every  limb.  These  skele- 
tons were  promiscuously  scattered  about,  and  parts  of  skele- 
tons were  sometimes  found  at  different  depths  below  the  sur- 
face.    This  hill  is  at  least  fifty  feet  above  the  highest  freshet 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  63 

the  very  vigorous  growth  of  young  wood  which  takes 
place  along  their  margin,  wherever  the  fire  has  been 
kept  out  for  a  few  years,  and  in  this  country,  where 
vegetation  proceeds  with  a  rapidity  quite  astonishing 
to  the  native  of  Britain,  many  kinds  of  trees,  at  the 
age  of  three  or  four  years,  have  attained  a  height  of 
from  eight  to  twelve  feet.  Fire  will  pass  through 
among  trees  of  even  smaller  dimensions  than  these 
without  killing,  although  it  materially  injures  them, 
and  on  the  ridges  and  in  the  groves,  which,  from  their 
situation,  must  have  been  frequently  exposed  to  fire, 
the  old  timber  is  invariably  unsound,  and  much  of  it 
is  hollow. 

"Where  the  country  is  becoming  settled,  the  inhab- 
itants generally  are  opposed  to  "setting  out  fire," 
the  risk  to  houses,  crop,  and  fences  being  often  very 
great,  and  a  man  may  see  the  hard  labour  of  years 

in  the  Scioto,  and  is  a  very  ancient  alluvion,  where  every  stratum 
of  sand,  clay  and  pebbles  has  been  deposited  by  the  waters  of 
some  stream.  Other  skulls  have  been  taken  out  of  the  same  hill 
by  persons,  who,  in  order  to  make  a  road  through  it,  were 
engaged  in  taking  it  away.  These  bones  are  very  similar  to 
those  found  in  our  mounds,  and  probably  belonged  to  the  same 
race  of  men;  a  people  short  and  thick,  not  exceeding  generally 
five  feet  in  height,  and,  very  possibly,  they  were  not  more  than 
four  feet  six  inches.  .  .  .  Fragments  of  antique  pottery, 
and  even  entire  pots,  of  coarse  earthenware,  have  been  found 
likewise  in  the  excavations  of  the  Illinois  salt-works,  at  the 
depth  of  eighty  feet  and  more  from  the  surface.  .  .  .  This 
fossil  pottery  is  stated  not  to  differ  materially  from  that 
which  frequently  occurs  in  the  mounds  supposed  to  have  been 
formed  by  the  aboriginal  Indians. ' ' 


64  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

rendered  nugatory  in  a  few  hours ;  besides,  the  ground 
is  rendered  perfectly  bare,  a  great  disadvantage  to 
cattle,  as  they  must,  of  necessity,  lie  on  the  frozen 
ground  through  the  winter,  and  be  deprived  of  any 
benefit  which  might  have  resulted  from  the  decayed 
grass  as  fodder,  —  no  great  benefit,  no  doubt,  but  still 
better  than  none  whatever. 

In  spite  of  legal  enactments  against  the  practice, 
the  burning  of  the  prairie,  either  by  human  agency 
or  by  that  of  lightning,  still  continues,  and  is  likely 
to  do  so,  till  the  country  becomes  thickly  settled,  and 
the  prairies  so  much  eat  out  as  to  set  the  incendiary 
at  defiance. 

When  a  farm  is  knew,  or  surrounded  by  ground 
susceptible  of  ignition,  the  owner  sometimes  encircles 
it  with  a  ring,  formed  by  drawing  a  few  furrows  with 
a  plough,  which  mostly  checks  the  progress  of  the 
flames.  If  this  has  not  been  done,  and  fire  is  seen 
approaching,  the  grass  is  ignited  close  to  the  house 
and  fences,  and  is  allowed  to  spread,  only  in  a  direc- 
tion leading  from  them.  This  setting  out  "fire  to 
meet  fire, "  as  it  is  termed,  may  appear,  at  first  sight, 
a  somewhat  hazardous  experiment,  but  is  not  so  in 
reality ;  and  I  have  seen  it  practised  with  perfect  suc- 
cess. A  person  with  a  handful  of  ignited  grass,  runs 
along,  shaking  it  so  as  to  disengage  some  particles  of 
the  flaming  materials,  which  fall  among  and  instantly 
set  fire  to  the  standing  grass.  After  having  proceeded 
in  this  manner  for  fifteen  or  twenty  yards,  he  returns, 
and  with  a  branch  beats  out,  on  the  side  next  to  the 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  65 

fence,  etc.,  the  fire  which  has  begun,  of  course,  to 
spread  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  this  operation  is 
repeated,  till  he  has  performed  the  circuit  of  his 
location,  or  secured  it  from  danger.  It  is  by  no  means 
safe,  however,  to  trust  to  this  method,  if  the  line  of 
fence  is  very  extensive,  as  the  fire  sometimes  comes  up 
so  unexpectedly,  and  at  such  a  pace,  that  there  is  no 
time  left  for  doing  anything  to  check  its  progress.  I 
have  seen  it  stated,  that  a  man  on  horseback  has  no 
chance  of  escaping  by  speed  from  prairie  fire,  but 
confess  that  I  never  saw  it  attain  any  such  speed  as 
to  warrant  the  assertion,  although  it  may  sometimes 
travel  three  or  four  miles  an  hour.  Still,  at  the  season 
of  the  annual  conflagrations,  the  traveller  may  run 
some  risk,  as  from  the  thick  state  of  the  atmosphere, 
he  may,  before  he  is  aware,  march  right  up  to  an 
approaching  line  of  some  miles  in  length,  when,  if  he 
have  not  the  means  of  raising  fire,  or  be  on  foot  and 
without  some  friendly  creek,  at  no  great  distance,  to 
fly  to,  it  may  require  considerable  self-possession  and 
exertion  to  escape  a  horrible  death.  But  if  he  can 
raise  fire,  and  set  it  out  before  his  enemy  come  up  to 
him,  he  has  a  bared  spot  to  stand  upon,  and,  like  the 
enchanter  in  his  circle,  sets  the  raging  fiend  at  defi- 
ance. So  effectually  does  the  fire  do  its  work,  that  the 
earth  is  left  quite  bare,  and  a  person  may  walk  upon 
it  without  sustaining  any  injury,  immediately  after 
the  fire  has  passed. 

Few  sights  can  be  grander  than  that  of  the  prairie 
on  fire  during  the  night;  the  huge  body  of  flame 


66  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

spread  far  and  wide,  leaping  and  plunging  like  the 
waves  of  the  sea  in  a  gale  against  a  rocky  coast,  and 
emitting  a  continued  roar  like  that  of  a  heavy  surf 
when  heard  from  a  short  distance.  The  whole  country 
is  lighted  up  for  miles,  and  the  sky  (where  not  ob- 
scured by  volumes  of  smoke)  is  like  a  sheet  of  red 
hot  metal.  But  the  scene  is  by  far  the  grandest  when 
the  fire  is  in  the  woods,  particularly  if  they  have  been 
preserved  from  its  ravages  for  some  seasons,  as  there 
is  then  a  dense  growth  of  young  trees,  mostly  of  kinds 
retaining  their  withered  leaves,  mixed  with  grass  and 
weeds.  Owing  to  the  covering  of  the  branches  above, 
a  draft  is  engendered  which  drives  the  flames  up 
among  the  limbs  of  the  tall  forest,2  yet  so  rapid  is  the 
course  of  the  fire,  that  none  of  the  large  trees  are  seized 
by  it,  except  such  as  are  dead  or  decayed,  and  these 
are  left  like  pillars  of  fire,  some  of  them  continuing  to 
burn  for  days,  a  loud  crash  at  intervals  intimating 
their  downfall. 

There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  coal  prevails 
throughout  a  large  proportion  of  the  Mississippi  Val- 
ley, though,  owing  to  the  abundance  of  wood,  the 
inhabitants  have  not  hitherto  paid  much  attendence 
to  that  mineral.  A  great  drawback  to  the  usefulness 
of  the  coal  seams  on  the  prairies  is  their  frequently 

2  I  passed  through  a  grove  in  which  the  fire  had  been  the 
previous  day,  and  saw  a  huge  trunk,  hollow  and  without  the  top, 
into  which  the  fire  had  got  by  a  hole  in  the  root,  and  was 
roaring  up  through  the  cavity  like  the  blast  of  a  smelting 
furnace,  and  darting  far  into  the  air. 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  67 

having  no  cover  beyond  the  alluvial  deposits  of  gravel 
and  clay,  which,  when  deep,  render  the  coal  quite  un- 
attainable by  ordinary  means.  In  some  places  the 
seams  are  so  near  the  surface,  that  they  are  cut  into 
by  the  waggon  wheels  in  wet  weather.  —  The  seams 
are  sometimes  three  and  four  feet  thick.  The  coal  is 
bituminous,  and  of  excellent  quality. 


CHAPTER  III. 

WHILST  the  population  on  the  great  rivers  and 
other  thoroughfares  is  of  a  very  mixed  and 
doubtful  character,  much  of  that  on  the  prairies  and 
purely  agricultural  districts  consists  of  decent  people 
of  simple  manners,  and  is  as  unlike  that  of  the  eastern 
states  as  if  they  were  of  different  nations.  In  the  west, 
the  Yankee  is  not  very  generally  nor  highly  esteemed, 
as  he  is  considered  ' '  too  quirky. ' '  If  anyone  has  been 
cheated,  he  is  said  to  have  been  ' '  yankeed ' ' ;  and  any 
worthless  thing,  which  is  tinselled  and  varnished,  is 
said  to  have  been  "yankeed  over."  The  population 
of  Randolph  county,  as  in  the  states  generally,  has 
been  derived  from  many  parts  of  the  world.  The 
are  Dutch,  Germans,  Swiss,  Yankees,  Irish,  Scotch,  a 
few  English,  and  a  number  from  the  more  southern 
states ;  the  latter,  as  I  understand,  having  immigrated 
to  this  part  of  the  country,  owing  to  the  dislike  they 
had  to  slavery.  They  are,  at  all  events,  very  generally 
abolitionists.  Another  reason  might  be  their  want  of 
means  to  become  slaveholders,  a  man's  respectability 
being,  in  a  great  measure,  proportioned  to  the  num- 
ber of  slaves  in  his  possession.  However  this  may  be, 
I  found  many  of  these  men  intelligent,  and  of  good 
moral  character,  and  generally  professing  a  religious 
creed,  less  whimsical  than  some  others  among  a  very 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  69 

motley  class  of  Christians.  There  is  a  congregation 
of  old  light  Canieronians,  and  one  of,  I  think,  Anti- 
burghers,  with  resident  pastors,  at  Sparta  (late  Co- 
lumbus), near  Flat  Prairie,  in  this  county,  and  a 
Roman  Catholic  Church  and  Nunnery  at  Kaskaskia. 
There  are  also  circuit  preachers  sent  out  by  the  heads 
of  different  persuations,  who  make  regular  visits  to 
different  parts  of  the  country,  and  who  are  partly 
remunerated  by  the  subscriptions  of  a  portion  of  the 
community.  For  the  religion  of  the  state  generally, 
I  shall  quote  a  few  particulars  from  "Illinois  in 
1837,"  a  work  published  by  S.  Augustus  Mitchell, 
Philadelphia :  — 

1 '  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  the  most  num- 
erous. —  The  Illinois  Conference,  which  embraces  this 
state  and  a  portion  of  Wisconsin  territory,  in  1835 
had  61  circuit  preachers,  308  local  preachers,  and 
15,097  members  of  society.  They  sustain  preaching 
in  every  county  and  in  a  large  number  of  the  settle- 
ments. 

"The  Baptist  denomination  includes  22  associa- 
tions, 260  churches,  160  preachers,  and  7,350  com- 
municants. 

The  Presbyterians  have  one  synod,  eight  presby- 
teries, and  about  80  churches,  60  ministers,  and  2500 
members. 

"There  are  12  or  15  Congregationalist  churches 
united  in  an  association,  and  several  ministers. 

"The  Methodist  Protestant  denomination  has  one 
conference,  22  ministers,  and  344  members. 


70  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

"The  Reformers,  as  they  term  themselves,  or 
'  Campbellites, '  as  others  call  them,  have  several  large, 
and  a  number  of  small,  societies,  a  number  of  preach- 
ers, and  several  hundred  members,  including  the 
Christian  body  with  which  they  are  in  union.  —  They 
immerse  all  who  prefess  to  believe  in  Christ,  for  the 
remission  of  sins,  but  differ  widely  from  orthodox 
Baptists  on  some  points  of  doctrine. 

"The  Cumberland  Presbyterians  have  two  or  three 
presbyteries,  twelve  or  fifteen  preachers,  and  several 
hundred  communicants. 

"There  are  two  churches  of  Reformed  Presbyteri- 
ans, or  Covenanters,  one  minister,  and  about  280  com- 
municants, with  a  few  families  scattered  in  other  parts 
of  the  state.  There  are  also  two  or  three  societies  of 
Associate  Reformed  Presbyterians  or  Seceders. 

' '  In  McLean  county  is  a  society  of  United  Brethern, 
or,  as  some  call  them,  Dutch  Methodists. 

' '  The  Dunkards  have  five  or  six  societies,  and  some 
preachers,  in  this  state. 

"There  are  several  Lutheran  congregations,  with 
preachers. 

"The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  has  an  organ- 
ized diocese,  eight  or  ten  congregations,  and  seven  or 
eight  ministers. 

"There  are  small  societies  of  Friends,  or  Quakers, 
in  Tazewell  and  Crawford  counties;  and  a  few  Mor- 
mons, scattered  through  the  state. 

"The  Roman  Catholics  are  not  numerous.  They 
have  a  dozen  congregations,  eight  or  ten  priests,  and 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  71 

a  population  between  five  and  six  thousand,  including 
old  and  young.  A  convent  and  boarding-school  for 
young  ladies  is  in  operation  in  Kaskaskia.  The  Roman 
Catholics  are  mostly  about  the  old  French  villages  and 
the  labourers  along  the  line  of  canal. 

' '  There  is  a  considerable  expression  of  good  feeling 
amongst  the  different  religious  denominations,  and 
the  members  frequently  hear  the  preachers  of  each 
other,  as  there  are  but  few  congregations  that  are 
supplied  every  Sabbath.  The  qualifications  of  the 
clergymen  are  various.  A  number  of  them  are  men 
of  talents,  learning,  influence,  and  unblemished  piety. 
Others  have  had  but  few  advantages  in  acquiring 
either  literary  or  theological  information,  and  yet  are 
good  speakers  and  useful  men. 

"In  general,  there  are  as  many  professors  of 
religion,  of  some  description,  in  proportion  to  the 
population,  as  in  most  of  the  states.  The  number  will 
not  vary  far  from  40,000,  or  one  to  ten. ' ' 

There  is  a  good  deal  of  superstition,  or  belief  in 
witchcraft,  omens,  lucky  times,  etc.,  especially 
amongst  the  hunters,  who  are  the  pioneer  settlers  of 
North  America,  and  of  whom  very  many  can  neither 
read  nor  write.  I  have  heard  singular  stories  of  rifles 
being  witched,  and  anything  very  singular  in  nature 
is  ascribed  to  the  devil,  as  "devil's  oven,"  "devil's 
lettuce,"  "devil's  mare,"  (the  last  a  singularly 
shaped  insect)  ;  a  species  of  superstition  which  seems 
in  some  shape  to  have  infected  the  darker  stages  in 
the  progress  of  every  people.    I  was  so  unlucky  as  to 


72  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

afford  what  was  considered  an  incontestable  proof  of 
the  truth  of  witchcraft. 

I  had  strolled  into  the  woods  with  my  rifle  to  look 
out  for  a  buck.  It  was  summer  and  near  sundown, 
that  and  early  morning  being  the  only  times,  at  this 
season,  when  deer  are  to  be  seen  afoot,  as  they  lie  hid 
through  the  day.  I  had  not  been  long  out,  when  I 
thought  I  saw,  among  some  hazels,  about  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  off,  some  part  of  the  body  of  a  deer,  which  in 
the  summer  months  has  a  coat  in  colour  somewhat 
like  that  of  a  light  red  cow.  I  made  a  detour,  in 
order  to  take  advantage  of  the  cover  of  some  bushes 
and  trees,  and  after  a  good  deal  of  crawling  on  all 
fours,  and  sometimes  at  full  length,  got  within  eighty 
yards  of  the  spot.  On  looking  past  a  tree,  behind 
which  I  was  lying,  I  saw  two  deer  standing,  evidently 
listening  and  ready  to  bound  off.  Having  lain  motion- 
less for  some  time,  to  regain  my  wind  and  reassure 
them,  I  cautiously  pushed  forward  my  rifle,  and  hav- 
ing taken  deliberate  aim,  fired  at  the  one  nearest  me, 
which  fell,  as  I  thought,  plump  down  on  the  spot.  On 
raising  myself  up  a  little,  I  saw  what  I  conceived  to 
be  the  head  of  the  deer  above  the  long  grass,  and  fear- 
ing it  might  escape  me,  lay  still  and  reloaded.  —  On 
looking  past  the  tree  again,  I  saw  not  only  the  head 
still  in  the  same  place,  but  the  other  deer  also.  One 
deer  was  quite  enough  in  such  hot  weather,  but  this 
fellow  was  standing  so  beautifully  that  I  was  tempted, 
and  fired  at  him.  I  heard  the  bullet  play  thump  on 
his  ribs,  and  off  he  bounded.    No  doubt  I  had  not  got 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  73 

the  powder  properly  down  the  barrel  when  I  lay  and 
loaded  behind  a  tree.  Well,  well,  let  him  go,  thought 
I,  one  is  quite  enough.  On  looking  towards  the  spot, 
I  still  saw  the  deer's  head,  though  not  quite  so  dis- 
tinctly, as  it  seemed  to  have  settled  down  among  the 
grass.  This  was  a  good  sign,  so  I  loaded  again,  and 
marched  up,  when  —  there  was  no  deer  —  no  blood  — 
not  even  the  slightest  trail  in  the  grass !  After  looking 
round  for  a  few  moments,  I  went  back  to  the  tree 
from  which  I  had  fired,  and  could  see  nothing  at  all 
like  a  deer  or  a  deer's  head. 

I  repeat  that  such  superstitions  as  I  have  mentioned 
are  mostly  confined  to  the  hunters  and  early  settlers. 
It  may  easily  be  supposed  that  the  character  of  such 
a  mixed  population  exhibits  no  near  approach  to  indi- 
viduality. 

Not  long  after  arriving  at  our  destination,  we  were 
invited,  amongst  others  of  the  family  with  which  we 
resided,  to  a  corn  shocking  or  husking  frolic.  The 
person  who  intends  to  have  a  frolic,  or  bee,  rides 
round  amongst  his  neighbors  a  few  days  before  and 
invites  them  to  attend,  and  the  invitation  is  very  gen- 
erally complied  with. 

On  the  present  occasion,  three  of  us  started  through 
a  grove  a  mile  in  width,  which  intervened  between  us 
and  the  place  of  our  destination.  It  was  a  beautiful, 
clear  morning  in  January,  and  although  there  had 
been  a  pretty  sharp  frost  through  the  night,  it  was  ex- 
ceedingly mild,  being  tempered  by  the  rays  of  an  un- 
clouded sun.     Our  route,  though  mostly  wooded,  was 


74  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

at  intervals  varied  by  openings  displaying  fine  swell- 
ing knolls  or  knobs,  as  they  are  called,  clothed  with 
hazels,  whilst  the  intervening  vallies  [valleys]  of 
prairie,  swept  gently  round  their  bases.  Here  and 
there  were  clumps  of  oaks  and  hiccory,  and  single 
trees  almost  overtopped  and  festooned  with  vines,  tell- 
ing of  rare  beauty  and  shade  in  the  summer  heats. 
At  one  point,  we  had  a  view  of  the  prairie  stretching 
away  in  the  distance,  dotted  here  and  there  with  a 
cabin  shooting  its  pale  blue  smoke  into  the  still  air, 
the  far  woods  lining  the  distant  horizon  like  a  bank  of 
clouds. 

For  some  time  before  we  arrived,  we  heard  ringing 
through  the  woods  the  fitful  sounds  of  voices,  which 
became  more  continuous,  until  we  at  once  emerged 
from  the  grove,  and  arrived  at  the  scene  of  action, 
which  was  situated  on  the  margin  of  the  prairie.  It 
was  a  scene  full  of  novelty.  Groups  of  wild-looking 
men,  with  long  hair  spread  over  their  shoulders,  and 
clad  in  homespun  coats,  and  trowsers  of  Dutch  build, 
were  standing  about,  laughing  and  talking,  whilst  all 
around  were  seen  fancifully  caparisoned  horses,  with 
long  tails  and  manes,  attached  by  the  bridles  to  the 
pliant  branches  of  the  trees.  New  comers  were  pour- 
ing in  from  all  quarters,  some  carrying  long  rifles  on 
their  shoulders,  and  accoutred  in  belt  and  bullet 
pouch. 

In  the  house  was  a  long  table  groaning  under  piles 
of  eatables  for  those  who  had  come  far,  or  felt  inclined 
to  partake  of  them. 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  75 

In  a  short  time  we  proceeded  to  the  corn  cribs,  one 
of  which  had  been  unroofed,  the  more  readily  to 
receive  the  husked  corn,  whilst  the  walls  of  that  in 
which  the  corn  was  lying,  had  been  almost  entirely 
removed ;  the  roof  and  logs  constituting  one  end  of  it, 
having  been  taken  away,  whilst  the  logs  forming  the 
side  walls  had  their  disengaged  extremeties  swayed 
outwards,  so  that  the  heap  could  be  surrounded  on 
three  sides. 

All  things  being  prepared,  a  noisy  consultation  was 
held,  when  it  was  resolved  and  carried  that  the  heap 
should  be  divided  into  two  equal  parts.  On  this  being 
done,  two  men  were  being  pitched  upon  as  captains 
of  the  heaps,  who  having  called  sides,  the  battle  com- 
menced. 

No  match  at  football  or  shinty  was  ever  engaged  in 
with  more  uproarious  animation.  The  yells  of  defi- 
ance, mingled  with  whoops  and  yells  in  Indian  style, 
arose  in  one  continued  medley,  and  reverberated  far 
through  the  woods,  whilst  an  unceasing  shower  of  corn 
streamed  through  the  air  towards  the  roofless  crib, 
many  of  the  ears  flying  wide  of  the  mark,  and  one 
now  and  then  making  a  dubiously  tangential  move- 
ment, which  brought  it  into  contact  with  the  body  of 
some  unlucky  wight.  Shortly  after  the  commence- 
ment, there  were  some  new  arrivals,  towards  whom 
the  tide  of  vociferation  was  directed.  "Come  along, 
Andy  —  go  ahead  —  whoop,  here 's  the  major  —  hal- 
loo, major,  graze  it  —  well  done,  Kurnel,  —  look  at 
him  —  see  how  he  cuts  gravel  —  whoop,  halloo,"  etc. 


76  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

As  the  proprietor  of  the  corn  was  a  temperance 
man,  there  was  no  whisky  allowed.  On  similar  oc- 
casions, however,  where  the  master  of  the  ceremonies 
is  less  strict,  there  is  a  plentiful  libation  of  that  most 
execrable  of  spirits,  corn  whisky,  or  of  peach  brandy. 
A  red  ear,  which  is  now  and  then  met  with  among  the 
white  flint  corn,  is  always  a  signal  for  a  round  of  the 
bottle. 

After  the  husking  was  over,  as  many  of  the  com- 
pany as  could  gain  admittance  at  one  time,  entered 
the  house  to  partake  of  the  multitude  of  viands  which 
covered  the  table.  As  this  is  an  occasion  on  which 
the  old  woman,  as  a  wife,  of  whatever  age,  is  famil- 
iarly termed,  makes  a  display,  no  trouble  is  spared, 
and  she,  with  some  of  her  neighbours,  labours  for  a 
day  or  two  beforehand  with  a  most  praiseworthy  and 
successful  zeal,  to  twist  each  article  in  the  larder  into 
the  most  various  and  recondite  shapes  possible. 

Some  travellers  very  kindly  gave  us  a  list  of  the 
bills  of  fare ;  but  I  cannot,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  gratify 
the  reader  by  so  doing,  nor  would  he,  perhaps,  be 
much  the  wiser  were  I  to  inform  him  that  there  were 
Johnny  cake  and  hoe  cake,  pone  bread  and  dodger, 
salt  bread  and  milk  bread,  pumpkin  and  other  pies, 
with  a  number  of  fantastic  freaks  in  pastry,  that 
belong  to  no  kindred  or  nation ;  suffice  it  to  say,  that 
among  many  examples  of  ingenuity,  there  was  abund- 
ance of  really  good  and  substantial  fare,  accompanied 
by  the  never-failing  coffee.  After  all  had  partaken 
of  the  good  things,  and  had  lounged  about  the  door 
for  some  time,  to  talk  over  the  news  of  the  day,  the 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  77 

company  dropt  away,  each  taking  the  route  for  home. 

Sometimes,  on  similar  occasions,  a  number  of  the 
ladies  of  the  neighborhood  assemble,  and  the  affair 
finishes  off  with  amusements,  and  if  a  fiddler  can  be 
procured,  with  a  dance. 

From  Christmas  to  the  middle  of  January  is  the 
time  for  killing  the  hogs  for  market,  and  for  home  use 
through  the  season,  and  pork  being  a  staple  com- 
modity in  the  economy  of  an  American  household, 
every  farmer  has  a  herd  of  these  animals.  At  all 
seasons,  except  when  put  up  to  get  corn,  to  feed  them 
off  and  firm  their  flesh,  which  is  soft  and  oily  when 
merely  mast  fed,  they  roam  at  large  through  the 
woods,  with  little  trouble  to  the  owners  beyond  that 
of  bringing  them  home  now  and  then,  and  giving 
them  a  little  corn  to  prevent  them  from  running  wild, 
or  wandering  to  a  distant  range.  Those  newly  littered 
must  also  be  searched  for,  in  order  that  they  may  be 
preserved  from  the  attack  of  the  wolf. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  animal  which  the  western 
farmer  possesses,  reared  with  so  little  trouble  and  ex- 
pense, and  which,  at  the  same  time,  adds  so  largely 
to  his  comforts,  as  the  hog.  At  all  times,  except  dur- 
ing the  short  winter,  when  the  earth  is  bound  up  by 
frost,  he  roams  at  large,  at  some  seasons  rooting  in 
the  woods  and  prairies,  at  others  luxuriating  amidst 
a  great  abundance  of  mast,  consisting  of  acorns,  hic- 
cory  nuts,  walnuts,  hazel  nuts,  etc. ;  and  the  pork  fed 
in  this  way,  though  soft  and  apt  to  run  much  to 
grease  in  the  cooking,  is  the  sweetest  I  ever  tasted. 

A  hog  killing  is  one  of  the  great  affairs,  and  such 


78  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

individuals  as  are  accounted  dexterous  at  the  opera- 
tion are  in  request  at  killing  time.  The  hogs  being 
very  wild  and  savage,  any  uproar  or  squealing  makes 
them  so  outrageous,  that  they  become  quite  unman- 
ageable. A  rifle  is  mostly  used  to  bring  them  down, 
the  marksman  doing  his  best  to  kill  them  dead  on  the 
spot,  by  shooting  them  through  the  head.  After  every 
precaution  to  prevent  such  an  occurrence  has  been 
used,  they  sometimes  break  through  the  fence,  and 
run  off  to  the  woods,  squandering  in  all  directions. 
When  this  takes  place,  the  owner  and  his  assistants 
hunt  them  like  deer,  and  shoot  them  wherever  they 
can  find  them,  without  being  very  nice  in  taking  aim 
at  any  particular  part  of  the  body. 

I  happened  to  be  invited  to  a  hog-killing,  and  on 
arriving,  with  two  others,  at  the  place,  found  that 
the  condemned  grunters  had  broken  loose  from  their 
pen,  though  luckily  they  had  gone  into  a  large  field 
of  fifty  or  sixty  acres,  surrounded  by  a  good  rail  fence. 
This  was  the  first  time  they  had  broken  fence,  and  the 
man  accounted  for  their  doing  so  by  saying,  "they 
had  a  mighty  great  notion  of  what  was  going  to  take 
place,  as  he  had  been  oftener  to  them  that  morning 
than  he  had  used  to,  and  had  made  them  mad  by 
laying  some  more  rails  on  the  fence  of  the  pen. ' '  The 
affair  was  not  quite  so  bad  as  if  they  had  taken  to  the 
woods,  still,  no  energetic  measures  could  be  used,  as 
even  a  good  rail  fence  is  a  trifle  opposed  to  an  enraged 
hog.  Most  unluckily,  there  was  only  one  gun,  and 
that  an  old,  smooth  bore,  which  might  have  done  well 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  79 

enough  at  the  pen,  but  which  made  very  random  work 
at  a  long  distance.  However  it  would  not  do  to  stand 
and  talk,  as  the  thermometer  was  down  very  near 
zero,  and  a  northwester  beginning  to  sweep  the  prai- 
rie, so  to  work  one  of  the  party  set  with  the  old  gun, 
whilst  the  rest,  by  walking  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
field,  kept  the  hogs  as  near  him  as  possible.  After 
crouching  about  for  some  time,  the  marksman  fired 
and  brought  down  one,  which  was  immediately  bled 
by  a  man  who  followed  closely  for  that  purpose.  A 
considerable  time  elapsed  before  a  shot  was  got  at 
another,  standing,  as  it  did,  at  some  distance.  The 
shot  took  effect  at  the  animal's  body,  and  over  he 
tumbled,  but  quickly  regaining  his  feet,  set  off  floun- 
dering and  squealing.  The  old  fellow  threw  down  his 
gun,  and  scrambled  over  the  fence  and,  accompanied 
by  his  henchman  with  the  knife  and  a  stout  dog,  pur- 
sued across  the  field  full  split.  The  field  was 
ploughed,  hard  frozen,  and  covered  with  loose  snow, 
a  conjunction  of  circumstances  most  unfavourable  to 
speedy  progress;  and  the  poor  hog  and  his  pursuers 
were  seldom  all  afoot  at  the  same  time,  and  when  the 
dog  got  up,  and  a  series  of  short  cuts  and  turns  took 
place,  the  affair  became  almost  a  scramble  on  all  fours. 
There  was  much  need  for  despatch,  however,  for  the 
cries  of  their  wounded  companion  having  aroused  the 
rest  of  the  herd,  they  came  up  with  erect  bristles  and 
open  mouth  to  the  rescue.  The  hog  was  seized  and 
stabbed,  just  in  the  nick  of  time,  and  the  men,  with 
some  difficulty,  made  good  their  retreat;  not  so  the 


80  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

dog,  which,  being  fierce  and  unwilling  to  quit  his 
victim,  had  the  back  part  of  his  head  laid  open  for  his 
temerity.  After  considerable  delay  and  a  series  of 
operations  somewhat  similar  to  those  described,  the 
whole  were  slaughtered  and  hauled  up  on  a  sled  to  the 
house,  where  preparations  had  been  made  for  scalding 
them.  This  process  took  place  out  of  doors.  A  couple 
of  logs  of  about  eighteen  inches  diameter  were  rolled 
nigh  together,  a  proper  supply  of  lighted  fuel  was 
put  between  them,  and  over  it  were  placed  all  the  pots 
and  kettles  that  could  be  mustered  about  the  place. 
The  water,  when  boiling,  was  poured  into  the  barrel 
with  one  of  its  ends  out,  which  was  placed  in  an 
inclined  position,  and  into  which  the  hogs  were  soused 
over  head  and  ears. 

The  northwester  had  become  a  stiffish  breeze,  and 
the  day  was  dreadfully  cold  —  so  cold,  indeed,  that 
the  tops  of  the  bristles  became  frozen  together  in  a 
few  seconds  after  the  hogs  were  withdrawn  from  the 
hot  water,  and  the  carcases  were  as  hard  as  wood  in 
not  very  many  hours. 

The  breed  of  hogs  in  this  part  of  the  country  is  very 
bad;  they  are  long-nosed,  thin  creatures,  with  legs 
like  greyhounds,  and,  like  the  greyhound  among  dogs, 
seem  to  be  the  kind  formed  for  speed  and  agility 
among  swine,  as  they  think  nothing  of  galloping  a 
mile  at  a  heat,  or  of  clearing  fences  which  a  more 
civilized  hog  would  never  attempt.  Still,  as  the  hog 
of  a  pioneer  settler  has,  at  some  seasons,  need  for  all 
the  activity  he  can  exert  to  procure  a  subsistence, 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  81 

he  may  after  all  be  the  best  fitted  for  the  backwoods. 

Till  about  the  middle  of  January  the  weather  was 
very  fine,  with  moderately  frosty  nights  and  clear 
sunshiny  days ;  but  about  that  time  winter  commenced 
in  earnest,  and  the  northwest  winds,  with  a  tempera- 
ture at  zero,  swept  the  prairie  with  a  chilling  blast, 
that  made  the  bones  of  one's  face  ache.  The  trees 
might  be  heard  through  the  night  cracking  from  the 
effects  of  the  frost.  Though  the  woods  felt  very  cold, 
yet  from  the  comparative  stillness  of  the  air  in  their 
recesses,  they  were  never  to  compare  to  the  prairie, 
whose  keen  blast  seemed  to  penetrate  the  very  bones. 
A  dead  calm  and  a  gale  respectively  at  zero,  are  two 
very  different  affairs;  the  former  being  quite  toler- 
able with  moderate  exercise,  whilst  the  latter  is  all 
but  insufferable,  unless  one  be  wrapped  up  like  a 
pack,  and  have  nothing  exposed  but  the  nose  and  eyes. 

The  very  severe  cold  lasted  only  a  few  days,  during 
which  time  nobody  seemed  inclined  to  stir  far  from 
the  fire ;  and  roarers  we  kept.  The  chimney  and  chim- 
ney-brace were  generally  on  fire  several  times  through 
the  day,  but  we  had  some  water  ready,  standing  in  a 
bucket,  close  to  the  fire,  to  keep  it  from  freezing.  The 
house  was  so  open,  that  whilst  we  were  sitting  as  near 
to  the  fire  as  we  could  for  burning  our  clothes,  our 
backs  were  starving  from  the  current  of  air  generated 
by  the  heat.  Most  unfortunately,  our  luggage  had  not 
come  along,  and  we  had  no  books,  except  two  or  three, 
among  which  were  the  Confession  of  Faith  and  Burns ' 
Poems,  which  were  read  and  re-read  from  beginning 


82  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

to  end,  with  a  zeal,  as  regards  the  former,  that  would 
have  been  exemplary  had  there  been  greater  choice. 
I  attempted  to  write,  but,  although  I  heated  the  ink, 
which  was  hard  frozen,  and  sat  within  as  short  dis- 
tance of  the  fire  as  I  could,  with  the  paper  on  my 
knee,  I  could  not  write  one  word;  the  ink  seemed  to 
vanish  up  the  pen,  and  was  frozen  in  an  instant. 

Prairie  hens  (pinnated  grouse)  and  quails  came 
about  the  fences  in  hundreds,  and  with  a  very  primi- 
tive trap,  made  of  split  sticks,  with  a  figure  4  trigger, 
we  caught  numbers  of  both  within  view  of  the  door 
of  the  house.  Owing  to  the  carelessness  of  a  forward- 
ing agent,  a  Mr.  Redman,  at  Shawneetown,  our  lug- 
gage, with  which  were  our  guns,  did  not  arrive  till 
spring,  so  that  we  got  no  shooting  at  this  time. 

Time  hung  heavily  on  our  hands,  and  as  soon  as 
the  weather  moderated,  I  shouldered  an  axe  and  went 
to  the  woods  with  the  choppers.  My  coup  d  'essai  was 
an  old  gnarled  hiccory,  for  firewood ;  and  if  the  old 
woman  had  had  none  but  me  to  depend  upon,  she 
might  have  got  clear  of  boiling  pot  or  kettle  for  that 
day.  Bye  and  bye,  I  became  more  expert,  and  event- 
ually could  bring  down  a  good  large  tree  with  com- 
parative ease,  and  got  initiated  into  all  the  mysteries 
of  rail  splitting. 

Every  one  has  read  or  heard  of  the  prodigies  per- 
formed by  the  American  chopper;  and  the  dexterity 
and  speed  with  which  many  of  them  accomplish  their 
work,  are  really  surprising.  As  with  other  operations 
requiring  great  dexterity,  it  is  necessary  to  commence 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  83 

chopping  when  young,  a  person  past  middle  age  very 
rarely  becoming  proficient.  But  what  would  the 
American  be  without  his  axe  of  the  true  Yankee  cut  ? 
He  would  be  dexterous,  no  doubt,  in  the  use  of  any 
axe,  according  to  its  capabilities;  but  I  very  much 
doubt  if  he  could  do  half  of  the  chopping  and  split- 
ting with  any  axe  I  ever  saw  in  Britain.  The  Yankee 
axe,  with  its  handle,  is  a  scientific  implement  —  much 
more  so,  indeed,  than  many  who  use  it  are  aware  of  — 
and  it  is  most  beautifully  made  of  the  very  best  ma- 
terials, cast  steel  of  the  finest  quality  being  used. 
Among  the  best  and  handsomest  I  saw  were  of  the 
brand  Collin's  and  Co.,  Hartford,  (Connecticut).1 

After  a  tree  has  been  felled,  the  workman  gets  on 
to  it,  and  by  cutting  into  the  middle  from  opposite 
sides,  detaches  a  length  of  ten  or  eleven  feet   (the 

1  I  saw  in  Canada  some  axes  which  had  been  made  in  Eng- 
land from  a  model  sent  for  that  purpose.  The  person  who  had 
them  told  me  that,  although  cheaper  than  those  made  in  the 
country,  they  were  by  no  means  so  good;  in  fact,  that  they 
were  useless.  I  have  often  been  ashamed  to  see  the  worthless 
trash,  in  the  shape  of  tools,  cutlery,  etc.,  sent  out  from  this 
country  to  the  United  States;  but  the  Americans  are  tired  of 
this,  and  now  manufacture  a  large  quantity  of  tools  of  very 
superior  quality.  The  fact  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
finest  steel  manufactured  in  this  country,  is  exported  to  Amer- 
ica, speaks  volumes.  The  author  of  "Manufactures  in  Metal", 
in  Lardner's  Cyclopaedia,  remarks  —  "It  has  been  said  that 
there  is  probably  ten  times  as  much  Hoop  L  sent  to  America 
as  is  consumed  in  this  country,  though  the  amount  of  steel 
used  at  home  is  at  least  fifty  times  greater  than  the  amount 
sent  to  the  United  States. ' ' 


84  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

former  length  is  usual  in  the  west,  the  latter  in  Can- 
ada), the  curves  on  each  side  being  so  managed  that 
the  end  of  the  detached  piece  is  cut  straight  across  to 
facilitate  the  operation  of  splitting.  Iron  wedges 
are  introduced  at  this  end,  and  when  an  opening  has 
been  made,  wooden  ones  are  introduced,  and  the  log 
is  halved,  quartered,  and  finally  reduced  to  rails  of 
the  desired  size. 

A  chopping  dee,  where  twenty  or  thirty  choppers 
are  collected,  is  an  animating  affair.  The  forest  re- 
sounds with  the  blows  of  the  axe,  and  ever  and  anon 
some  tall  monarch  of  the  woods  begins  to  topple, 
reclines  gently  to  one  side,  and  then  rushes,  with 
accelerating  speed,  and  the  roar  of  a  whirlwind,  to 
the  thundering  earth,  amidst  a  chaos  of  smashed  limbs 
and  dust. 

Accidents  sometimes  occur,  from  the  descent  of 
pieces  of  shattered  limbs,  which  have  been  pitched 
into  the  air;  and  my  friend  was  one  day  felled  to 
the  earth  with  one  which  descended  from  a  height  of 
seventy  or  eighty  feet,  and  though  the  touch  was  so 
slight,  that  it  barely  ruffled  the  skin  of  his  face,  yet 
some  of  his  teeth  were  splintered  by  it. 

So  soon  as  the  weather  becomes  mild  and  settled  in 
spring,  ploughing  is  commenced,  to  prepare  the 
ground  for  corn,  as  maize  or  Indian  corn  is  invariably 
termed,  which  is  got  in  about  the  end  of  April  or  be- 
ginning of  May ;  past  the  middle  of  May  being  thought 
too  late,  although  corn  planted  about  the  beginning 
of  June  is  sometimes  a  very  good  crop.     There  are 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  85 

several  kinds  of  corn,  but  the  kind  almost  invariably 
planted  in  the  district  to  which  I  refer,  and  over  a 
large  portion  of  Illinois,  is  the  white  flint,  which  ap- 
pears best  to  suit  the  climate.  It  is  a  grain  requiring 
good  soil,  and  a  long  course  of  warm  weather,  to  bring 
it  to  maturity.  From  fifty  to  eighty  bushels  an  acre 
is  reckoned  a  good  crop  on  most  prairie;  but  on  the 
Ohio  and  Mississippi  bottoms,  100  and  even  120  bush- 
els are  sometimes  raised  —  an  immense  increase,  when 
it  is  considered  that  one  bushel  of  corn  is  quite  enough 
seed  for  ten  acres. 

This  grain  is  the  indigent  farmer's  main  depend- 
ence, for  without  it,  I  do  not  see  how  he  could  live 
and  support  his  stock.  It  affords  the  means  of  sub- 
sistence to  every  living  thing  about  his  place,  particu- 
larly during  periods  of  snow,  or  hard  frost;  for  not 
only  is  everything,  down  to  the  dog  and  cat,  fond  of 
the  grain,  in  some  shape  or  another,  but  its  very 
stalks,  leaves,  and  husks  afford  a  valuable  fodder  for 
cattle  and  horses.  Then,  who  but  must  admire  the 
facility  with  which  it  is  raised;  the  small  amount  of 
labour  required;  the  trifling  quantity  of  seed;  and 
the  most  abundant  return.  It  is  not  like  other  grain 
easily  injured;  but  once  ripe,  there  it  stands,  setting 
at  defiance  rain,  frost,  snow,  and  avery  vicissitude  of 
climate,  often  through  great  part  of  winter ;  and  when 
gathered,  it  is  frequently  piled  into  heaps  standing 
on  the  ends  of  the  stalks  in  the  fields,  without  any 
covering,  or  thrown,  often  on  the  bare  ground,  into  a 
crib  but  poorly  defended  from  wet,  and  permeable 


86  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

to  the  snow  and  drift.  It  is  to  the  poor  of  this  coun- 
try what  the  potato  is  to  the  poor  Irish,  and  can  be 
cooked  and  turned  into  as  many  shapes ;  and  speaking 
from  my  own  experience,  is  equally  wholesome,  per- 
haps more  so  in  a  hot  climate.  The  white  flint  is  much 
sweeter,  and  more  palatable  than  the  yellow  corn, 
which  is  the  kind  mostly  imported  to  England. 

The  ground  being  ploughed,  is,  mostly  without  any 
harrowing,  scratched  with  the  plough,  at  distances  of 
four  feet  apart ;  and  after  the  field  has  been  gone  over 
in  this  way,  similar  scratches  or  furrows  are  drawn  at 
right  angles  to  the  previous  ones,  thus  forming  a 
series  of  crossings,  four  feet  apart  in  all  directions. 
Exactly  at  the  spot  where  the  furrows  intersect  each 
other,  from  three  to  five  grains  of  corn  are  dropped, 
and  lightly  covered  over  with  a  hoe. 

When  the  plants  have  risen  about  twelve  inches, 
they  are  thinned  down  to  four  on  every  hill,  and  if 
the  seeds  have  not  sprung,  more  are  planted  and 
thinned  out  afterwards.  The  ground  ought  to  be  gone 
over  with  a  light  one-horse  plough,  at  least  two  or 
three  times,  in  order  to  keep  down  the  weeds,  and  to 
expose  a  fresh  surface  of  soil. 

Store,  or  sod  corn,  is  planted  on  the  breaking  up  of 
prairie,  the  seeds  being  scattered  along  every  third 
furrow ;  and  thus  the  land  is  ploughed  and  a  crop  put 
in  at  the  same  time.  A  bushel  of  seed  will  plant  four 
acres.  After  this  crop  is  removed  from  the  ground 
in  the  fall,  and  without  any  farther  preparation  of 
the  land,  wheat,  at  the  rate  of  one  bushel  an  acre,  is 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  87 

sown  and  harrowed  in.  Thus  with  one  ploughing  and 
a  harrowing  are  secured  two  crops,  the  corn  averaging 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  bushels,  and  the  wheat  about 
twenty  bushels  an  acre ;  the  return  in  both  cases,  how- 
ever depending  very  much  on  the  style  in  which  the 
prairie  has  been  broken. 

On  good  land,  the  corn  stalks  are  often  eight  or 
ten,  and  sometimes  from  twelve  to  fifteen  feet  long, 
with  a  seedy-looking  tassel  at  the  top,  and  carrying 
one  or  two  good  ears,  at  about  two-thirds  of  their 
height  from  the  ground.  If  the  ears  on  one  stalk  ex- 
ceed two,  they  are  small,  and  of  less  value  than  a  single 
good  one.  Some  of  the  smaller  kinds  of  corn  will,  I 
believe,  produce  more  ears. 

When  the  corn  is  ripe,  which  it  generally  is  about 
the  middle  of  October,  or  five  and  a  half  months  from 
the  time  it  is  planted,  it  is  cut  down  with  a  large 
knife,  or  a  piece  of  an  old  scythe  put  into  a  handle, 
and  is  either  hauled  home,  or  piled  up  in  the  field  with 
the  lower  end  of  the  stalks  standing  on  the  ground. 
Frequently  it  is  left  uncut,  the  ear  alone  being  pulled 
and  stored  in  the  corn  crib  till  the  proper  season  for 
a  husking  frolic.  When  the  stalks  are  thus  left  stand- 
ing, the  cattle  are  turned  into  the  enclosure,  to  feed 
an  hour  or  two  every  day  during  winter.  I  have  seen 
corn  stand  all  winter  without  being  gathered,  and 
without  suffering  any  injury  from  the  weather,  so  well 
is  it  protected  by  its  voluminous  husk.  If  left  in  this 
state,  however,  it  is  destroyed  by  deer,  prairie  fowl, 
field  mice,  squirrels,  etc. 


88  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

Wheat  is  raised  in  considerable  quantity,  and  of 
excellent  quality,  frequently  weighing  upwards  of  60 
lbs.  a  bushel ;  a  very  fair  weight  when  it  is  considered 
that  the  system  of  dressing  is  very  clumsy  and  defec- 
tive. It  is  generally  sown  in  October,  on  ground  where 
corn  has  grown  on  the  preceding  season;  and  after 
oats,  castor  oil  beans,  and  sometimes  on  the  newly 
broken  prairie.  One  bushel  of  seed  per  acre  is  quite 
enough,  as  every  grain  seems  to  grow,  and  stool  or 
spread  out  into  thick  and  distinct  patches.  Perhaps 
the  prairie  soil,  as  it  never  binds  at  any  season,  but  is 
at  all  times,  except  when  frozen  or  steeped  with  recent 
rains,  as  friable  as  ashes,  may  favour  this  overspread- 
ing of  the  roots,  which  certainly  very  materially  de- 
tracts from  the  increase,  as  each  grain  produces  a 
close  matted  plant,  from  which  result  slight  straws 
and  a  small  ear.  That  this  is  not  entirely  the  effect 
of  climate,  is  proved  by  better  and  more  abundant 
crops  of  wheat  being  grown  on  the  timber  and  ridge 
lands  of  the  creeks,  where  the  soil  consists  of  a  lime- 
stone alluvion,  without  any  addition  of  a  purely 
prairie  soil.  I  am  of  the  opinion,  that  the  prairies 
will  grow  more  abundant  crops  of  wheat  than  at 
present,  when  the  prairie  soil  shall  have  been  worn 
down;  but  nothing  like  the  abundance  of  the  wheat 
crops  of  our  own  country  must  be  expected,  as  it  will 
never  be  realized  either  in  Illinois  or  in  any  other  hot 
climate.  From  twenty  to  twenty-two  bushels  per 
acre,  I  consider  fully  the  average  of  all  the  wheat 
I  saw  in  Illinois. 

Wheat  harvest  commences  in  June,  and  there  is  a 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  89 

ready  market  for  as  much  as  can  be  raised,  at  a  price 
which  had  been  steadily  increasing  for  some  years,  till 
it  was  affected  by  the  late  monetary  convulsion  (that 
of  1841-2). 2 

Oats  are  raised  in  some  parts  of  the  state,  and  yield 
a  plentiful  crop ;  but  the  climate  is  too  hot  and  speedy 
for  them,  and  the  grain  is  imperfectly  formed.  They 
make  very  good  feed,  however,  either  when  thrashed, 
or  when  cut  early  and  seasoned,  they  are  given  to 
cattle,  corn  and  all ;  the  latter,  no  doubt,  being  a  very 
improvident  plan;  but  as  long  as  there  is  no  other 
system  of  thrashing  but  that  of  treading  out  with 
horses,  it  is  perhaps  the  best  that  can  be  followed. 
Two  bushels  an  acre  is  the  quantity  generally  sown; 
and  the  return  is  frequently  above  forty  bushels. 

Uplands  rice  is  sometimes  raised,  but  not  in  great 
quantity.  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  it  succeeds  in 
the  southern  part  of  the  state,  where  I  have  also  seen 
millet,  which  looked  very  well.  Buck  wheat  is  fre- 
quently grown. 

There  is  seldom  any  barley  planted  in  Randolph 
county,  but  it  would  appear  that  it  can  be  raised  with 
advantage.  I  was  informed  by  a  gentleman,  on  whose 
word  I  can  place  entire  confidence,  that  he  had  seen 
sixteen  bushels  of  this  grain  gathered  from  a  quarter 
of  an  acre ;  but  a  prejudice  exists  against  it  on  account 
of  the  difficulty  and  annoyance  experienced  in  dress- 
ing it,  from  the  want  of  proper  implements. 

The  cotton  plant  is  frequently  to  be  seen,  but  not  in 

2  Wheat  in  Randolph  county  was  in  1830,  50  cents;  in  1837, 
1  dollar  20  cents;  and  in  1841,  80  cents  per  bushel. 


90  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

any  great  quantity,  as  the  inhabitants  raise  it  only 
for  their  own  use.  When  taken  care  of,  it  grows  well, 
and  produces  very  good  cotton. 

Tobacco  may  be  raised  in  any  quantity. 

Potatoes  are  almost  universally  planted,  and  yield 
a  fair  return,  but  are  by  no  means  so  good  as  those  in 
Britain. 

The  sweet  potato  thrives  very  well,  and  is  very 
much  esteemed  by  the  natives.  It  runs  some  risks 
from  the  late  frosts  in  spring. 

Musk  melons,  water  melons,  squashes,  pumpkins, 
gourds  and  cucumbers,  of  excellent  quality,  are  raised 
in  great  abundance,  by  merely  dropping  a  few  seeds 
here  and  there  among  the  rows  of  corn.  The  pump- 
kins are  raised  chiefly  as  feed  for  horses  and  cattle, 
which  are  very  fond  of  them. 

Turnips  have  several  times  been  tried  by  a  Scotch 
gentleman  from  Roxburghshire ;  but  without  success. 
When  planted  in  the  spring,  they  are  overtaken  by 
the  summer  drought,  and  are  either  scorched,  or 
forced  to  seed.  When  planted  in  summer,  the  ground 
is  so  dry,  that  the  seed  does  not  vegetate,  unless 
moistened  by  a  thunder  shower,  which  is  so  transient 
in  its  effects,  where  the  soil  is  exposed  to  the  sun's 
rays,  that  the  germs  are  soon  withered;  and  when 
planted  at  the  commencement  of  the  fall,  although 
there  is  still  plenty  of  time  between  that  and  winter, 
their  growth  is  checked  by  the  frosts  which  invariably 
occur,  with  greater  or  less  intensity,  through  the  night. 
The  high  value  which  a  British  farmer  habitually 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  91 

attaches  to  the  turnip,  may  cause  him  to  regret  the 
failure  of  this  plant  on  any  part  of  the  earth's  sur- 
face to  which  he  may  emigrate,  and  acting  on  pre- 
conceived opinions,  he  may  throw  away  both  time 
and  money  in  an  unavailing  struggle  with  nature.  A 
change  of  country  is  not  all  that  our  emigrant  must 
effectuate;  he  must  also  make  a  change,  to  a  great 
extent,  in  his  habits,  both  of  thought  and  action  —  he 
must  adapt  himself  to  circumstances. 

I  very  much  doubt  if  turnips  will  ever  be  profitably 
raised  in  the  southern  part  of  Illinois ;  but  Indian  corn 
is  a  very  good  substitute,  and  is  much  more  varied  in 
its  uses.  Large  numbers  of  cattle  and  hogs  are  annu- 
ally fattened  on  this  grain,  which  seems  to  answer  the 
purpose  much  better  than  any  we  cultivate  in  this 
country.  It  is  very  nutritious,  and  less  stimulating, 
perhaps,  than  any  other  grain.3 

Although  the  farmer  may  fail  in  raising  turnip, 
I  have  reason  to  believe  that  there  is  no  difficulty  in 
raising  beet,  or  mangel  wurzel;  and  have  heard  fifty 
or  sixty  tons  mentioned  as  the  produce  of  an  acre ;  a 
quantity,  which,  I  believe,  exceeds  the  average  in  Eng- 
land. 

Castor  oil  beans  are  raised  in  considerable  quanti- 
ties ;  from  fifteen  to  twenty  bushels  an  acre  being  an 
average  crop.  They  are  planted  from  the  middle  to 
the  end  of  April,  and  generally  begin  to  ripen  about 
the  end  of  July,  when  it  is  necessary  to  go  through 

3  Mush,  a  sort  of  porridge  made  of  it,  and  eaten  with  milk,  is 
highly  spoken  of  as  a  light  food  for  dyspeptics. 


92  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

the  plants  every  day  and  cut  off  the  ripe  pods,  which 
are  deprived  of  the  beans  by  being  exposed  to  the  sun. 
The  beans  can  be  sold  very  readily,  as  presses  for  ex- 
tracting the  oil  are  in  almost  every  town.  A  bushel  of 
beans  affords  about  one  gallon  and  a  half  of  oil. 

All  kinds  of  grain,  except  maize,  are  cut  down 
with  the  cradle  scythe;  from  two  to  three  acres  of 
oats,  and  about  two  of  wheat,  being  accounted  a  good 
day's  work.  When  grain  is  not  lodged,  this  is  an 
excellent  method  of  cutting  it,  as  it  is  both  speedy  and 
efficient.  A  scythe  of  between  three  and  four  feet  is 
generally  used,  and  is  fixed  to  a  sned  or  handle  with 
a  peculiar  twist.  Four  or  five  fingers,  at  intervals  of 
five  or  six  inches  above  one  another,  extend  from  the 
heel  to  within  two  or  three  inches  of  the  point,  in  the 
direction,  and  with  nearly  the  curve,  of  the  blade. 
The  fingers  are  supported  by  a  rod,  inserted  into  the 
sned  at  the  heel  of  the  scythe ;  by  another  rod  that  is 
attached  to  the  back  of  the  scythe  by  means  of  a 
punched  hole,  about  a  foot  or  fourteen  inches  from 
the  heel;  and  by  braces  from  the  latter  rod  to  the 
sned.  There  are  as  many  braces  as  fingers,  with  the 
addition  of  a  brace  from  the  top  of  the  rod  inserted 
at  the  heel,  to  the  sned.  The  rod  or  support  at  the 
heel  must  be  placed  at  such  an  angle  to  the  sned,  as 
to  ensure  its  being  perpendicular  to  the  ground,  and 
of  course  parallel  with  standing  grain,  when  the 
cradle  is  in  the  act  of  being  used. 

There  are  two  methods  of  laying  down  the  grain 
with  the  cradle,  of  which  the  more  generally  adopted 
is  ' '  swathing ; ' '  that  is,  arranging  the  cut  grain,  when 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  93 

delivered  from  the  scythe,  in  a  continuous  row,  with 
the  stalks  at  right  angles  to  the  course  of  the  mower ; 
the  cut  ends  lying  nearly  evenly  along,  near  his  left 
foot.  By  another  method,  "griping"  as  it  is  termed, 
the  grain,  after  the  stroke  is  made,  is  collected  on  the 
braces,  by  turning  up  the  fingers  of  the  scythe,  when 
it  is  seized  by  the  left  hand  and  dropped  upon  the 
ground.  Two  handfuls  are  laid  together,  and  consti- 
tute a  small-sized  sheaf. 

Hay,  in  great  abundance,  may  be  had  on  the  prairie. 
The  inhabitants  say  that  it  is  not  good,  and  that  cattle 
do  not  thrive  well  on  it ;  but  one  may  surely  entertain 
some  doubt  of  the  correctness  of  this  opinion,  when 
the  nutritious  quality  of  grasses  is  so  evident  in  the 
speedy  fattening  of  cattle  and  horses.  The  fact  is, 
the  hay  is  never  made  early  enough  in  the  season ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  the  grass  is  allowed  to  stand  till  it 
has  in  a  great  measure  become  ripe,  and  has  lost  the 
greater  part  of  its  juices.  On  asking  why  they  did 
not  mow  earlier  in  the  season,  it  was  answered  that 
"the  grass  was  so  tender,  and  dried  so  much  away, 
that  it  took  twice  as  much  labour  to  get  the  same 
quantity  early,  that  it  did  later  in  the  season ;  besides, 
when  it  was  mown  late,  there  was  some  bone  in  it, 
and  it  took  some  eating:  whereas,  when  it  was  mown 
earlier,  the  cattle  swallowed  it  by  mouthfuls  —  there 
was  no  such  thing  as  getting  them  enough;"  argu- 
ments which  require  no  comment,  and  which  will  be 
fully  appreciated  by  any  practical  farmer  in  this 
country. 

The  grass  cut  down  in  the  forenoon  is  put  up  into 


94  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

cocks  in  the  afternoon,  and  may  be  carried  home  in  a 
few  days. 

Many  farmers,  who  have  been  some  time  settled, 
have  timothy  meadows,  which  are  regularly  mown 
every  season,  and  which,  when  they  are  situated  on 
a  moist  bottom,  yield  a  most  luxuriant  crop. 

There  is  a  sort  of  grass,  with  whose  botanical  name 
I  am  unacquainted,  but  which,  in  the  States,  is  called 
"blue  grass,"  and  which,  I  believe,  is  extensively 
planted  in  some  districts.  I  saw  it,  in  two  instances, 
tried  on  the  prairie;  in  one,  among  red  clover,  on 
prairie  termed  second  rate,  i.  e.,  limestone  alluvion, 
with  a  little  black  loam  upon  it,  where  it  appeared  to 
grow  very  well ;  in  the  other,  on  a  very  fine  rich  prai- 
rie, where  it  was  completely  overwhelmed  with  tall 
weeds. 

Artificial  grasses  seem  to  thrive  best  on  the  ridge 
lands,  and  on  the  back  of  the  river  bluffs,  where  the 
soil  consists  of  a  fine  alluvial  clay,  uncovered,  or  at 
most  very  slightly  so,  by  the  black  loam  of  the  prai- 
ries. I  saw  some  very  fine  fields  of  red  clover,  quite 
free  from  weeds,  on  such  land,  in  the  neighborhood 
of  St.  Louis.  Indeed,  the  ridge  lands  do  not  produce 
weeds  to  any  great  extent,  either  before  or  after 
breaking  up,  and  after  wheat  is  cut,  the  stubbles 
remain  bare  through  the  rest  of  the  summer  and 
autumn.  On  the  prairie,  on  the  contrary,  wheat  is  no 
sooner  out  than  the  weeds  begin  to  show  themselves, 
and  in  a  week  or  two  the  whole  surface  is  green  with 
a  dense  crop ;  which  attains  a  height  of  three  or  four 
feet  and  ripens  in  the  fall. 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  95 

There  is  a  system  of  introducing  artificial  grasses 
into  the  prairie,  which  I  have  sometimes  heard  men- 
tioned, but  of  which  I  cannot  speak  from  my  own 
observation,  but  shall  give  an  extract  from  a  letter, 
in  which  it  is  referred  to  by  the  Hon.  H.  L.  Ellsworth, 
Superintendent  of  the  Patent-office  at  Washington : — 
"There  is  a  practice  mentioned  by  Mr.  Newell,  and 
highly  recommended  by  others,  of  putting  in  hayseed 
without  ploughing  the  ground ;  this  is  done  by  burn- 
ing the  prairie  grass  in  the  spring  and  harrowing  the 
seed.  The  seed  catches  quick  and  grows  well.  Blue 
grass  especially  succeeds  in  this  way,  and  the  grass 
will  sustain  stock  all  winter  without  cutting  hay  or 
fodder  for  them.  A  large  drove  of  horses  was  kept 
last  winter  at  Indianapolis  on  blue  grass  in  the  open 
fields,  at  the  small  expense  of  one  dollar  per  head  per 
month."  I  may  remark  that  the  soil  about  Indian- 
apolis is  not  prairie,  but  a  fine  limestone  loam  re- 
claimed from  the  forest,  and  approaching  in  quality 
and  appearance  to  the  ridge  lands  above  mentioned. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  artificial  grasses  of  various 
sorts  might  readily  be  cultivated  on  such  land,  but  I 
must  say  that  I  am  somewhat  sceptical  with  respect 
to  the  successful  cultivation  of  such  grasses  on  the 
prairie  proper ;  by  which  term  I  would  designate  that 
prairie,  whose  upper  stratum  consists  of  a  pure  black 
mould  of  eight  or  ten  inches  deep,  and  evidently  the 
residuum  of  burnt  vegetable  matter;  as  it  is  of  so 
loose  and  friable  a  nature,  that  the  superficially-rooted 
grasses,  if  they  could  be  preserved  from  being  over- 


96  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

whelmed  by  weeds,  could  scarcely  withstand  the  sum- 
mer droughts.  It  may  be  said  that  the  annual  fires 
tend  to  destroy  such  grasses,  which  may  account  for 
their  non-appearance;  but  I  have  examined  prairie 
from  which  fire  had  been  kept  for  several  years,  and 
never  could  see  any  such  grasses,  whilst  on  ridge  land, 
under  similar  circumstances,  and  on  the  clay  thrown 
up  from  wells,4  I  have  seen  some,  and  amongst  others, 
the  common  white  clover. 


*  The  plants  springing  from  the  clay  thrown  out  of  these 
wells,  add  another  to  the  numerous  proofs  of  the  durability  of 
the  germinating  principle  in  seeds.  White  clover,  and  some 
other  grasses,  never  seen  on  the  rich  prairie,  spring  and  grow 
luxuriantly,  mixed  with  heavy-seeded  plants  and  shrubs,  of 
which  there  are  frequently  no  examples  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood. When  a  portion  of  the  ancient  forest  has  been  levelled 
by  a  thundergust,  it  often  happens  that  there  succeeds  a 
growth  of  young  wood  of  kinds  entirely  distinct  from  that 
which  previously  occupied  the  soil. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  ploughs  in  Illinois  are  slight,  and  often 
very  inefficient  implements ;  and  so  far  as  I  could 
learn,  are  constructed  without  much  regard  to  any 
scientific  principle.  The  farmers  often  manufacture 
their  own  ploughs,  particularly  the  light  one-horse 
ploughs,  which  are  used  for  cleaning  corn  and  plough- 
ing land  which  has  been  reclaimed  from  a  state  of 
nature,  when  it  is  so  light  and  friable  that  anything 
in  the  shape  of  a  plough  will  stir  it  up.  This  light 
plough,  when  well  made,  is  perhaps  as  well  adapted 
for  the  country  as  any  that  could  be  introduced  at 
present ;  as  it  is  simple  in  its  construction,  and,  when 
ploughing,  it  can  be  lifted  and  thrown  about  in  any 
direction,  to  avoid  the  roots  of  scrubs,  bushes,  or  any 
irregularities  among  the  corn  hills,  which  are  very 
often  far  from  being  placed  in  straight  lines.  A  stout 
boy  could  lift  one  of  them  on  his  shoulder,  and  carry 
it  with  ease.  When  cleaning  corn,  this  plough  is 
drawn  by  one  horse;  but  when  preparing  the  land 
for  crop,  two  horses  or  two  oxen  are  used. 

The  prairie  plough,  though  made  much  stronger 
than  the  small  plough,  is  very  seldom  proportioned  to 
the  strain  it  has  to  bear ;  and,  for  the  most  part,  makes 
wretched  work.  It  is  used  only  in  breaking  up  prai- 
rie, and,  when  properly  managed,  takes  a  furrow  of 


98  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

sixteen  or  eighteen  inches  in  width,  by  three  inches 
in  depth,  which  is  laid  over  quite  flat  with  the  grassy- 
side  down.  By  going  so  shallow,  the  plough  is  kept 
working  among  the  very  toughest  of  the  rind ;  and  the 
depth  being  graduated  by  two  wheels  which  run,  the 
one  in  the  furrow,  and  the  other  on  the  uncut  surface, 
if  the  several  parts  are  not  nicely  and  compactly  ad- 
justed, it  must  be  obvious  to  any  one  at  all  acquainted 
with  the  principles  on  which  a  plough  does  its  work, 
that  the  result  must  be  very  unsatisfactory.  In  fact, 
the  work  is  often  not  more  than  half  done ;  the  plow 
being  just  as  much  out  as  in;  and  such  an  operation 
would  be  of  very  little  use,  were  it  not  that  the  slight- 
est displacement  of  the  soil  destroys  the  prairie 
grasses.1  I  have  seen  five  yoke  of  oxen  in  one  of  these 
crazy,  creaky  things,  which,  not  unfrequently,  are 
converted,  by  one  smash,  into  a  bundle  of  sticks. 

Both  of  these  ploughs  are  made  much  shorter  than 
the  Scotch  plough.  The  beam  in  each  is  more  upright, 
and  the  handles,  in  some  instances,  are  nearly  perpen- 
dicular. The  share,  sole,  and  breast,  are  made  of  mal- 
leable iron,  and  generally  all  in  one  piece.  The  share 
(Scottice  sock)  is  made  as  broad  as  the  furrow  in- 
tended to  be  cut,  and  is  laid  with  steel  beaten  very 
thin,  filed  sharp  on  the  outer  edge,  and  tempered 
hard,  in  order  to  cut  the  tough  roots  of  the  grasses 

1  When  the  surface  of  the  prairie  is  much  trodden  by  cattle 
in  wet  weather,  the  primitive  grasses  disappear,  and  the  same 
result  occurs  when  the  grasses  have  been  much  eaten,  or  have 
been  mown  for  a  season  or  two. 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  99 

and  weeds.  The  coulter,  which  is  used  only  in  the 
prairie  plough,  is  also  sharpened  and  tempered,  and 
has  on  the  under  edge,  near  its  point,  a  small  socket, 
which  fits  on  to  a  corresponding  plug  at  the  point  of 
the  share.  The  mould  board  is  of  wood.  The  wheels 
in  the  prairie  plough  act  like  those  on  the  English 
wheel  plough. 

I  am  convinced  that  a  good  Scotch  plough,  with  the 
share  broader  than  that  in  common  use,  would  break 
prairie  much  better  than  any  of  those  I  saw  at  work 
in  Illinois;  and  this  opinion  is  not  confined  to  con- 
jecture, as  I  saw  at  work  one  which  had  been  taken 
out  by  a  Scotchman.  This  plough,  instead  of  being 
kept  cutting  among  the  toughest  of  the  rind,  was 
entered  to  a  depth  of  six  or  seven  inches,  where  the 
share  was  completely  below  the  roots  of  the  grass.  By 
this  means,  the  rind  was  divided  by  the  sharpened 
coulter,  whilst  the  share  was  working  among  the  com- 
paratively loose  mould,  without  the  slightest  impedi- 
ment, except  when  some  grubs  of  hazel  or  other  bushes 
came  in  the  way.  These  grubs,  when  strong,  ought  to 
be  taken  up  previous  to  ploughing;  but  in  this  in- 
stance they  were  mostly  small,  and  were  easily  cut 
through  by  the  share,  which  was  sharpened  on  the 
right-hand  edge,  and  was  at  its  widest  part  as  broad 
as  the  furrow  taken. 

The  land  ploughed  in  this  manner  in  spring,  was 
quite  ready  for  planting  wheat  upon  in  autumn,  and 
was.  besides,  effectually  ploughed  at  once  and  forever. 

The  native   farmers  had  many  objections  to  this 


100  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

plough;  one  was,  that  "it  required  to  be  held,  and 
would  not  go  alone  as  the  prairie  plough  with  the 
wheels  did ; ' '  another,  that  ' '  it  did  not  take  a  furrow 
nearly  so  broad  as  did  their  plough,  and,  consequently, 
did  not  go  over  so  much  ground  in  the  day ' ' —  which 
is  true,  but  then  it  does  the  work  twice,  and  more  than 
twice,  as  well.  Another  objection  was,  that  "no  sod 
corn  could  be  planted  with  it,  as  it  would  bury  the 
seed  so  deep  that  it  would  never  come  up;"  and  this 
is  true,  if  the  seed  were  ploughed  down,  as  is  the 
practice  with  the  prairie  plough;  but  I  believe  that 
if  the  seed  were  sown  broadcast  and  lightly  harrowed 
in,  it  would  procure  a  better  crop  than  when  planted 
by  the  prairie  plough ;  and  as  a  preparation  for  wheat 
in  the  fall,  there  is  no  comparison  between  the  two 
methods.  Yet,  with  all  this,  seeing  that  prairie  is 
only  to  break  once,  it  is  very  questionable  whether  it 
would  be  worth  while  to  be  at  the  expense  of  pur- 
chasing and  conveying  a  plough  from  this  country  to 
Illinois. 

Where  labour  is  so  valuable,  people  naturally  at- 
tach much  importance  to  despatch,  and  any  method 
which  serves  to  abridge  labour,  is  seized  upon  with 
avidity.  Of  course,  expediency  is  too  much  the  order 
of  the  day,  and  people  sometimes  grasp  the  shadow 
and  lose  the  substance.  However,  it  ought  always 
to  be  kept  in  mind,  that  in  a  country  where  labour  is 
so  dear,  land  so  cheap,  and  nature  so  liberal,  it  is  bet- 
ter to  do  a  great  deal  in  a  middling  way  than  to  do  a 
little  well.     The   outlay  consequent   on  tilling  land 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  101 

with  great  care  is  not  met  by  a  corresponding  return. 

The  horses  in  this  part  of  the  state  are  mostly  small, 
barelegged,  durable  animals,  and  more  adapted  for 
the  saddle  than  for  the  heavier  kinds  of  agricultural 
labour.  As  the  prairies  are  quite  free  from  stones, 
horses  seldom  require  the  protection  of  shoes;  on  the 
contrary,  it  is  necessary  at  times  to  pare  and  reduce 
the  hoof,  which  would  otherwise  grow  too  long,  and 
be  apt  to  break.  I  never  saw  a  horse  with  unsound 
or  diseased  feet.  As  horses  are  much  wanted,  they 
are  mostly  broken  at  two  and  a  half  years  old,  which 
is,  no  doubt,  the  reason  of  their  being  so  generally 
tractable.  At  corn  huskings,  and  other  gatherings, 
they  are  tied  by  the  bridles  to  the  branches  of  the  sur- 
rounding trees,  and  will  stand  for  hours.  They  are 
exceedingly  hardy,  and  stand  in  stables  pervious  to 
every  blast,  and  not  one  whit  better  than  the  woods, 
only  they  have  roofs,  which  keep  out  the  rain  and  some 
of  the  snow. 

The  breeding  of  horses  is  a  profitable  business,  as 
there  is  a  ready  market  for  them,  and  the  expense  of 
rearing  them  is  trifling.  When  young,  or  going  at 
large,  they  subsist  very  well  on  the  prairie  during 
two-thirds  of  the  year,  without  any  additional  keep. 
They  ought  to  have  some  artificial  food  during  the 
rest  of  the  time,  particularly  in  the  severe  part  of 
winter,  which  lasts  from  two  to  five  or  six  weeks. 
Want  of  capital  had  hitherto  been  the  cause  of  so 
little  being  done  in  breeding,  but  farmers,  as  they 
begin  to  make  a  little  money  (unless  the  land-buying 


102  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

mania  seize  them)  generally  keep  a  brood  mare  or 
two ;  and  a  market  is  found  at  St.  Louis  or  New  Or- 
leans for  those  exceeding  the  demands  of  the  district. 
Such  as  go  down  to  New  Orleans  are  floated  down  the 
Mississippi  in  flat  boats.  The  breed  is  improving 
rapidly. 

Cattle  are  a  very  mixed  breed,  being  the  produce 
apparently  of  many  European  breeds  combined,  al- 
though in  some  places  they  are  evidently  derived  from 
the  French  breeds.  So  long  as  the  country  is  unen- 
closed, no  individual  can,  with  any  prospect  of  suc- 
cess, attempt  to  improve  his  breed  of  cattle.  The 
prairie  is  open  to  all,  so  that  a  number  of  herds  come 
in  contact  in  one  range;  and  bulls  of  all  shapes,  col- 
ours and  dimensions  are  going  at  large,  in  spite  of  a 
county  law  to  the  contrary.  It  may  be  owing  to  the 
almost  natural  state  in  which  they  exist,  that  the 
cows  do  not  calve  more  irregularly  and  at  more  incon- 
venient seasons,  than  they  do ;  still,  calves  are  fre- 
quently dropped  during  the  severe  weather  in  winter, 
when  they  are  frozen  to  death  if  not  noticed  in  time, 
and  carried  to  some  place  of  shelter.  The  tips  of  the 
ears  are  sometimes  frozen  off.  The  calves  are  kept  up 
in  some  fenced  place,  as  an  inducement  for  the  cows 
to  come  home,  which  they  do,  for  some  time,  pretty 
regularly  in  the  heat  of  the  day  and  at  night,  when 
they  stay  till  next  morning  at  sunrise.  When  the 
calves  are  fed,  one  is  let  out  at  a  time,  which  instantly 
runs  to  its  mother,  and  commences  sucking  at 
one  side,  whilst  the  milker  is  busily  employed  at  the 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  103 

other.  The  cows  are  frequently  so  very  wild,  that 
neither  of  the  operators  derive  [s]  much  benefit.  As 
the  maternal  affection  abates,  the  cows  become  less 
regular  in  their  visits,  and  finally  must  be  hunted  up 
by  a  person  on  horseback.  It  may  readily  be  supposed 
that,  under  such  treatment,  the  calves  do  not  make 
great  progress;  and  that  in  the  fall  and  through  the 
winter,  they  are  small,  starved  creatures. 

Some  farmers,  during  severe  weather,  give  their 
cattle  a  feed  of  corn  stalks  or  husks  once  a  day ;  but 
many  allow  them  to  shift  for  themselves.  All  kinds 
of  stock  would  be  much  improved  by  receiving  fodder 
during  the  four  months  which,  on  an  average  of  sea- 
sons, constitute  winter.  Under  the  present  system  of 
management  stock  frequently  suffers  as  much  from 
the  want  of  water  as  from  any  other  cause  during 
severe  weather,  when  all  the  creeks  and  branches  are 
frozen  up ;  and  very  few  of  the  inhabitants  put  them- 
selves to  the  trouble  of  cutting  holes  in  the  ice,  or  of 
drawing  water  from  the  wells. 

Cattle  are  subject  of  the  hollow  horn,  a  disease 
caused  by  the  severe  frosts  which  injure  the  flint  in 
the  horn,  and  cause  it  to  suppurate ;  when  inflamma- 
tion and  death  ensue,  unless  the  horn  is  pierced  so  as 
to  allow  the  matter  to  escape.  Inflammation  of  the 
kidneys  or  red-water  is  frequently  met  with;  and  in 
some  parts,  there  is  a  most  formidable  disease  called 
milk  evil,  or  milk  sickness,  which  is  not  only  fatal  to 
the  cows,  but  also  to  the  people  who  use  the  milk  of 
the  infected  animals.    The  cause  of  this  disease  is  not 


104  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

very  obvious,  but  it  is  generally  supposed  to  be  some 
vegetable  of  a  poisonous  quality.  It  may  be  as  well  to 
remark,  that  the  evidence  on  this  subject  is  of  a  nature 
so  conflicting  as  to  render  the  the  disease  somewhat 
apocryphal ;  still  I  have  heard  it  spoken  of  as  a  thing 
beyond  all  doubt  by  people  who  professed  to  have 
witnessed  its  effects.  It  is  said  to  be  confined  to  cer- 
tain districts,  where  it  appears  only  at  irregular  inter- 
vals. 

As  the  system  of  rearing  cattle  is  very  bad,  they 
are  mostly  small ;  yet  I  am  inclined  to  think  that,  with 
proper  management,  a  very  good  breed,  and  one  quite 
as  well  adapted  to  the  country  as  any  that  could  be 
introduced,  might  be  reared  from  them.  They  are 
very  hardy,  and  far  from  being  unkindly  feeders; 
and  I  have  seen  many  which  might  have  been  fed  to 
50  or  60  stones  of  14  lbs.  It  may  readily  be  imagined, 
from  what  has  been  said  of  their  treatment  during 
winter,  that  they  will  not  be  in  very  good  condition  in 
spring,  and  yet  many  of  them  get  to  be  very  fair  beef 
by  the  middle  of  June,  and  some  by  the  end  of  May. 

The  steers  at  three  years  old,  when  they  become 
liable  to  an  ad  valorem  tax,  are  sold  off  mostly  to 
drovers,  who  take  them  to  the  state  of  Ohio  to  be  fat- 
tened; whence  they  are  finally  conveyed  to  Phila- 
delphia, and  to  other  eastern  markets.  Droves  of 
heifers  are  sometimes  taken  to  the  northern  parts  of 
the  state ;  and  towards  Ouisconsin,  where  they  find  a 
market  among  the  new  settlers. 

There  is  no  difficulty  in  getting  quit  of  cattle  to 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  105 

almost  any  amount  at  these  annual  sales,  and  droves 
may  be  seen  of  1000  or  2000  head.  To  be  sure  the 
prices  are  not  large,  but  then  the  rearing  costs  almost 
nothing.  This  season  (1841),  the  average  prices  of 
steers  and  heifers  was  18  dollars,  or  £3-16s-6d.  sterling, 
taking  the  dollar  at  four  shillings  and  threepence,  and 
at  this  rate  a  yearly  cast  of  ten  head  would  bring  in 
the  sum  of  180  dollars,  or  £38-5s.,  a  considerable  sum 
in  a  country  where  living  is  so  cheap,  and  the  value 
of  money  so  high. 

The  drovers  come  into  the  country  in  the  beginning 
of  a  summer,  or  as  soon  as  there  is  a  sufficiency  of 
grass  to  afford  a  supply  to  their  droves  on  their  pass- 
age through  the  prairies  and  woods.  After  the  drover 
has  purchased  as  many  cattle  as  he  may  want  in  the 
neighborhood,  a  rendezvous  is  appointed,  whither  they 
are  all  to  be  brought  on  a  certain  day. 

Few  scenes  in  the  west  are  more  exciting  than  the 
start  of  a  drove  of  cattle.  On  the  evening  previous  to 
the  appointed  day,  herds  are  seen  approaching  in  all 
directions  across  the  prairie,  attended  by  men  on 
horseback.  Each  of  these  herds  consists  of  the  entire 
flock  of  some  farmer,  who  finds  it  a  much  easier  mat- 
ter to  bring  the  whole  than  to  select  and  force  away 
from  their  companions  such  as  have  been  sold.  On 
arriving  at  the  appointed  place,  where,  of  course,  are 
the  drover  and  his  assistants,  the  cattle  which  are  to 
remain  are  selected  and  driven  into  a  strongly  fenced 
enclosure,  whilst  their  companions  are  allowed  to  re- 
turn to  their  accustomed  range,  which  they  do  with- 


106  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

out  any  force  or  guidance,  striking  through  the  woods 
or  prairies  directly  for  home,  and  at  a  speed  which 
clearly  indicates  the  small  liking  they  have  for  such 
unwonted  proceedings.  A  regular  watch  is  set  over 
the  cattle  through  the  night,  in  order  to  prevent  them 
from  breaking  out;  a  feat  which  they  sometime  ac- 
complish in  spite  of  all  exertions  to  the  contrary,  when 
each  makes  the  best  of  his  way  to  the  old  range,  and 
must  be  hunted  up  again  next  day. 

I  witnessed  the  start  of  a  drove  of  cattle.  At  sun- 
rise, all  were  in  arms,  and  some  droves  might  still  be 
seen  coming  in  from  places  near  at  hand.  The  sun 
was  pouring  his  rays,  almost  blood  red,  through 
among  the  huge  trunks  and  limbs  of  a  neighboring 
grove,  tinging  everything,  and  embuing  the  heaven 
with  one  rosy  hue.  Long  diverging  streaks  of  red 
might  be  seen  escaping  through  some  of  the  openings 
of  the  grove,  and  crossing,  in  mid  air,  over  a  green 
unwooded  bottom,  whose  surface  was  yet  wrapped  in 
the  stillness  of  early  morning ;  whilst  the  f errugineous 
thrush,  from  the  topmost  point  of  a  lofty  oak,  sung 
his  matins  in  a  rich  song  which  echoed  far  through 
the  silent  woods.  Horses  stood  hitched  up  to  the 
branches  of  some  young  hiccory  trees,  which  stood  at 
intervals  around  the  house,  and  men  in  the  pictur- 
esque dresses  of  the  West,  and  with  heavy  whips  in 
their  hands,  stood  laughing  and  talking  in  groups,  or 
listlessly  reclined  against  the  rails  of  the  fence. 

The  drover  makes  it  one  of  the  conditions  of  his 
bargain,   that  each  individual  from  whom  he  buys 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  107 

cattle  shall  attend,  or  furnish  someone  to  assist  in  get- 
ting the  drove  started,  and  fairly  away,  and  in  this 
instance  there  might  be  from  twenty  to  thirty  people. 
At  length  all  was  ready,  and  the  men  mounted  their 
long-tailed  horses,  and  took  up  their  positions  in  such 
as  way  as  to  interpose  themselves  between  the  cattle 
and  the  woods,  and  so  force  them  out  on  to  the  prairie, 
on  whose  skirts  the  farm  was  located.  The  barriers 
were  pulled  down,  and  out  rushed  the  cattle  pellmeli 
amidst  a  torrent  of  shouts  and  yells.  The  charge  was 
desperate,  and  for  some  time  it  was  hard  to  say 
whether  the  beasts  or  their  opponents  would  gain  the 
victory;  at  length,  however,  with  the  assistance  of 
their  horses,  many  of  which  are  beautifully  trained  to 
this  occupation,  it  was  evident  that  the  men  would 
succeed.  Still  the  efforts  of  individuals  of  the  herd 
were  unceasing,  and  stray  ones  might  be  seen  gallop- 
ing on  the  prairie  in  all  directions,  horsemen  dashing 
after  them,  shouting  and  belabouring  them  with  their 
whips.  One  or  two  succeeded  in  getting  into  the 
woods,  which  were  in  some  places  filled  with  a  thick 
growth  of  underwood,  into  which  the  horses  fearlessly 
dashed,  seemingly  entering  into  the  spirit  of  the  chase. 
At  length  they  were  got  fairly  out  to  the  prairie,  and 
comparatively  under  command,  although  not  by  any 
means  entirely  subdued,  as  the  drove  was  at  full  gal- 
lop and  extended  over  a  surface  of  half  a  mile.  For 
the  space  of  an  hour  they  might  be  seen  still  making 
efforts  to  return,  or  to  break  off  at  one  side,  the  horse- 
men galloping  about,  and  plying  the  whip,  whilst  a 


108  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

distant  shout  rung  fairly  through  the  woods,  and  then 
they  disappeared  over  a  distant  swell. 

For  a  few  nights,  at  the  commencement  of  the 
journey,  the  cattle  are  shut  up  in  some  fenced  place, 
and  carefully  watched;  but  ere  long  there  is  no  need 
for  such  a  precaution,  as  they  appear  to  become 
resigned  to  their  fate,  and  march  on  quietly  through 
the  pathless  woods  and  prairies,  browsing  as  they  go ; 
and  if  not  overdriven,  arriving  at  the  end  of  their 
journey  in  better  condition  than  when  they  started. 

As  there  are  few  sheep,  and  very  little  care  is  taken 
of  them,  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  judge  how  they  might 
answer;  but  from  what  I  saw  of  them,  I  am  inclined 
to  think  they  will  become  a  profitable  stock.  Those 
reared  at  present  seem  to  fatten  readily,  and  to  arrive 
at  considerable  weights,  some  from  fifty  to  seventy 
pounds,  and  carry  a  good  fleece  of  wool.  The  breed  is 
almost  nondescript,  but  very  generally  exhibits  more  or 
less  of  that  distinctive  mark  of  the  merino,  the  tufted 
crown,  although  individuals  occur  of  much  larger 
bone  than  any  merinos  I  ever  saw.  They  lamb  at  all 
seasons,  are  never  weaned,  and  are  allowed  to  die  of 
old  age.  Mutton  is  never  seen  at  table,  except  at  the 
house  of  some  person  from  the  old  country  or  from 
the  eastern  states,  and  the  natives  cock  their  noses  at 
it  as  we  should  do  at  a  boiled  rat.  Sheep  are  kept 
solely  for  their  wool,  It  is  absolutely  necessary  in 
such  a  warm  climate  that  sheep  should  be  regularly 
supplied  with  water,  and  I  firmly  believe,  that  as 
many  of  them  die  from  want  of  that  necessary  as 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  109 

from  any  disease.  In  the  dry  season  water  is  sometimes 
not  to  be  found,  except  in  pools  in  the  creeks  and 
branches.  Horses,  cattle,  and  hogs,  can  shift,  if  left 
at  liberty,  and  will  range  for  miles  in  search  of  water, 
but  sheep  neither  can  or  will  take  so  much  exertion, 
and  seldom  venture  from  the  shade,  from  early  in  the 
forenoon  till  near  sundown.  I  have  seen  them  come 
and  drink  with  the  utmost  eagerness  when  water  was 
poured  into  the  horsetrough  at  the  well;  and  if  ever 
large  flocks  are  kept,  there  will  be  little  difficulty  in 
supplying  them  with  water  from  wells  which  can  be 
had,  almost  anywhere,  by  sinking  no  great  depth ;  and 
a  man  will,  in  five  minutes,  pump  as  much  as  would 
serve  some  hundreds  of  sheep.  It  is  necessary  to 
house  sheep  at  night,  to  protect  them  from  the  wolves. 

The  wool  is  mostly  spun  and  manufactured  by  the 
females,  and  spinning  wheels  and  a  loom  are  very 
general  items  in  a  farmer's  establishment.  The  prin- 
cipal manufacture  is  a  sort  of  light  cloth  called  janes, 
of  which  the  the  warp  is  formed  of  cotton.  Some  of 
the  women  are  very  expert  weavers,  and  employ  their 
spare  time  in  making  cloth,  which  they  sell  or  ex- 
change for  necessities  at  the  stores. 

Fowls,  of  all  the  ordinary  varieties,  are  reared  in 
great  abundance,  and  with  very  little  trouble,  and  no 
sooner  has  spring  fairly  set  in  than  the  old  woman 
has,  chirruping  in  all  directions,  swarms  of  young 
ones,  which  in  a  short  time  form  a  very  desirable  addi- 
tion to  the  universal  meat,  salt  or  smoked  beacon. 
Eggs  are  collected,  I  may  say,  by  bushels,  and  are 


110  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

much  used.  The  eggs,  fowls,  and  butter,  not  required 
for  home  use,  are  mostly  either  sold  to  men  who  go 
regularly  about  the  country  collecting  such  things,  or 
to  the  storekeepers  in  the  neighborhood.  —  Sometimes 
they  are  sent  to  St.  Louis,  where  there  is  a  large  daily 
market;  the  farmer  making  the  journey,  generally 
taking  the  produce  of  two  or  three  of  his  neighbors, 
who  accommodate  him  in  turn. 

On  the  subject  of  education,  I  again  quote  the  work 
published  by  Augustus  Mitchell : — 

' '  The  Congress  of  the  United  States,  in  the  act  for 
admitting  the  state  of  Illinois  into  the  Union,  granted 
to  it  the  section  numbered  sixteen  in  every  township, 
or  one  thirty-sixth  part  of  all  the  public  lands  within 
the  state,  for  the  use  of  schools.  The  avails  of  this 
section  are  understood  to  constitute  a  fund  for  the 
benefit  of  the  families  living  within  the  surveyed 
township,  and  not  the  portion  of  a  common  fund  to 
be  applied  by  the  state  for  the  general  purposes  of 
education.  Three  percent  of  the  net  proceeds  of  all 
the  public  lands,  lying  within  this  state,  which  shall 
be  sold  after  the  first  of  January,  1819,  is  to  be  paid 
over  by  the  general  government,  and  constitute  a  com- 
mon fund  for  education,  under  the  direction  of  the 
state  authority.  One-sixth  of  the  three-per-cent  fund 
is  to  be  exclusively  bestowed  upon  a  college  or  uni- 
versity. Two  entire  townships,  or  46,080  acres,  se- 
lected from  choice  portions  of  the  public  lands,  have 
likewise  been  given  to  education.  Part  of  this  land 
has  been  sold  by  state  authority,  and  the  avails  funded 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  111 

at  six  per  cent,  interest.***  The  funds  and  claims  of 
Illinois  for  education  purposes  may  be  estimated  at 
3,000,000  dollars. 

"Provision  now  exists  by  law  for  the  people  to 
organize  themselves  into  school  districts,  and  to  con- 
duct the  affairs  of  the  school  in  a  corporate  capacity 
by  trustees,  and  they  can  derive  aid  from  public 
funds  under  the  control  of  the  state.  Upon  petition 
from  the  inhabitants  of  a  township,  the  section  num- 
bered sixteen  can  be  sold,  and  the  proceeds  funded, 
the  interest  of  which  may  be  applied  annually  to  the 
teachers  of  such  schools  within  the  township  as  con- 
form to  the  requisites  of  the  law.  To  some  extent  the 
people  have  availed  themselves  of  these  provisions, 
and  receive  the  interest  of  the  fund. 

"A  material  defect  in  all  the  laws  that  have  been 
framed  in  this  state,  on  this  subject,  has  been  in  not 
requiring  the  necessary  qualifications  on  the  part  of 
the  teachers,  and  a  previous  examination  before  a 
board  of  committee.  Without  such  a  provision,  no 
school  law  will  be  of  much  real  service.  The  people 
have  suffered  much  already,  and  common  school  edu- 
cation has  been  greatly  retarded  by  the  imposition  of 
unqualified  and  worthless  persons  under  the  name 
of  school  teachers;  and  were  funds  ever  so  liberally 
bestowed,  they  would  prove  of  little  real  service,  with- 
out the  requisites  of  sobriety,  morality,  and  sufficient 
ability  to  teach  well  on  the  part  of  those  who  get  the 
pay.*** 

"The  people  in  any  settlement  can  organize  them- 


112  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

selves  into  a  school  district,  employ  a  teacher,  and  ob- 
tain their  proportion  of  the  income  from  the  school 
funds,  provided  the  teacher  keeps  a  schedule  of  the 
number  of  scholars  who  attend,  and  the  number  of 
days  each  one  is  present,  and  the  number  of  days  each 
scholar  is  absent,  a  copy  of  which  must  be  certified  by 
the  trustees  of  the  district,  and  returned  to  the  school 
commissioners  of  the  county  semi-annually.  If  the 
schools  is  made  up  from  parts  of  two  or  more  town- 
ships, a  separate  schedule  of  scholars  from  each  town- 
ship must  be  made  out.  The  term  'township'  in  the 
school  laws  merely  expresses  the  surveys  of  thirty-six 
sections,  and  not  a  civil  organization. ' ' 

I  may  add,  that  where  the  school  sections  are  still 
undisposed  of,  or  only  practically  so,  the  funds  for 
education  are  very  limited,  and  teachers,  of  course, 
difficult  to  be  got ;  and  in  thinly  peopled  districts  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  collect  such  a  number  of  scholars 
as  shall  make  it  worth  while,  in  a  pecuniary  point  of 
view,  for  a  person  to  commence  teaching.  When  the 
number  of  scholars  is  likely  to  be  too  small  to  raise  a 
remunerating  salary,  the  inhabitants  sometimes  guar- 
antee to  send  a  sufficient  number,  or  to  make  good  the 
deficiency  in  money.  In  the  recently-peopled  districts, 
there  is  often  no  school  house,  and  the  teacher  stays 
a  week  at  a  time  at  the  house  of  each  of  his  employers, 
such  a  place  constituting  the  school  for  the  time  be- 
ing. The  want  of  the  means  of  education  is  one  of  the 
most  serious  drawbacks  on  immigration  to  the  West. 

An  account  of  the  government  of  the  state  of  Illi- 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  113 

nois,  and  of  the  survey,  sale,  etc.,  of  public  lands,  is 
given  in  the  guide  book  already  referred  to,  from 
which  are  derived  the  following  extracts: — 

1 '  Government.  —  The  constitution  of  Illinois  was 
formed  by  a  convention  held  at  Kaskaskia  in  August, 
1818.  It  provides  for  the  distribution  of  the  powers 
of  government  into  three  distinct  departments  —  the 
legislative,  executive,  and  judiciary.  The  legislative 
authority  is  vested  in  the  general  assembly,  consisting 
in  a  senate  and  house  of  representatives.  Elections 
are  held  biennially,  as  are  the  ordinary  sessions  of  the 
legislature.  Senators  are  elected  for  four  years.  The 
executive  power  is  vested  in  the  governor,  who  is 
elected  every  fourth  year  by  the  electors  for  repre- 
sentatives, but  the  same  person  is  ineligible  for  the 
next  succeeding  four  years.  The  lieutenant-governor 
is  also  chosen  every  four  years.  The  judicial  power 
is  vested  in  a  supreme  court,  and  such  inferior  courts 
as  the  general  assembly  from  time  to  time  shall  estab- 
lish. The  supreme  court  consists  of  a  chief  justice 
and  three  associate  judges.  The  governor  and  judges 
of  the  supreme  court  constitute  a  council  of  reversion, 
to  which  all  bills  that  have  passed  the  assembly  must 
be  submitted.  If  objected  to  by  the  council  of  revis- 
ion, the  same  may  become  a  law  by  the  vote  of  the 
majority  of  all  the  members  elected  to  both  houses. 

1 '  The  right  of  suffrage  is  universal.  All  white  male 
inhabitants,  twenty-one  years  of  age,  who  have  resided 
within  the  state  six  months  next  preceeding  the  elec- 
tions, enjoy  the  right  of  electors.     Votes  are  given 


114  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

viva  voce.  The  introduction  of  slavery  is  prohibited. 
The  constitution  can  be  altered  only  by  a  convention. 
"The  whole  ordinary  annual  expenditure  of  the 
state  are  about  53,700  dollars.  The  revenue  of  the 
state  is  derived  principally  from  land  taxes.  The  tax 
of  lands  of  residents  goes  into  the  county  treasuries, 
for  county  purposes,  while  the  tax  on  the  land  of  non- 
residents goes  into  the  state  treasury,  for  state  pur- 
poses. The  quantity  of  land  subject  to  taxation  on 
the  first  of  August,  1836,  was  5,335,041  acres.  And 
the  quantity  subject  to  taxation 

In  1837  will  be  5,674,452 

1838  -     -  5,902,127 

1839  -     -  6,262,367 

1840  -     -  6,616,380 

1841  -     -  7,837,218 
And  in  1842  about  12,000,000 

Lands  sold  by  the  general  government  are  not  subject 
to  taxation  under  five  years  after  purchase. 

"Public  Lands.  —  The  greater  portion  of  the  un- 
occupied lands  of  the  United  States  constitute  the 
national  domain,  and  is,  of  course,  under  control  of 
the  general  government.*** 

"The  lands  are  surveyed  on  an  accurate  plan,  and 
according  to  a  general  system;  afterwards  they  are 
offered  for  sale  by  proclamation  of  the  President,  and, 
by  law,  must  be  sold  by  public  auction,  the  minimum 
price  being  one  dollar  twenty -five  cents  an  acre,  ready 
money.  One  section  in  each  township  is  reserved  for 
the  support  of  schools  in  the  township,  and  all  salt 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  115 

springs  and  lead  mines  are  reserved  from  sale,  unless 
by  special  order  of  the  President.*** 

"The  surveys  of  the  public  lands  of  the  United 
States  are  founded  upon  a  series  of  true  meridians, 
which  run  north  principally  from  the  mouth  of  some 
noted  river.  These  are  intersected  at  right  angles 
with  lines  running  from  east  to  west,  called  base 
lines.***  Each  of  these  meridians  has  its  own  base 
line,  which  forms  the  base  of  a  series  of  surveys,  of 
which  lines  are  made  to  correspond,  so  that  the  whole 
country  is  at  last  divided  into  squares  of  one  mile 
each,  and  townships  of  six  miles  each,  and  these  sub- 
divisions are  distributed  with  mathematical  accuracy 
into  parallel  ranges. 

"The  greatest  division  of  land  marked  out  by  the 
survey  is  called  a  township,  and  contains  23,040  acres, 
being  six  miles  square.  The  township  is  subdivided 
into  thirty-six  equal  portions  or  square  miles,  by 
lines  crossing  each  other  at  right  angles.  These  por- 
tions are  called  sections,  each  containing  640  acres, 
which  are  subdivided  into  four  parts,  called  quarter 
sections,  each  of  which,  of  course,  contains  160  acres. 
The  quarter  sections  are  finally  divided  into  two  parts, 
called  half-quarter  sections,  of  eighty  acres  each; 
these,  again,  are  under  certain  conditions  sold  in 
equal  subdivisions  of  forty  acres  each,  which  is  the 
smallest  amount  of  the  public  lands  disposed  of  by  the 
general  government.2    Any  person,  whether  a  native- 

2  I  believe  the  general  government  grants  only  one  purchase  of 
forty  acres  to  an  individual. 


116  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

born  citizen  or  a  foreigner,  may  thus  purchase  forty 
acres  of  the  richest  soil,  and  receive  an  indisputable 
title,  for  fifty  dollars.  —  The  sectional  and  quarter 
sectional  divisions  are  designated  by  appropriate 
marks  in  the  field,  which  are  of  a  character  to  be 
easily  distinguished  from  each  other.  If  near,  timber 
trees  are  marked  and  numbered  with  the  section, 
township  and  range,  near  each  sectional  corner.  If 
in  a  large  prairie,  a  mound  is  raised  to  designate  the 
corner,  and  a  billet  of  charred  wood  buried,  if  no 
rock  is  near. 

Sections  are  divided  into  halves  by  a  line  drawn 
north  and  south,  and  into  quarters  by  a  transverse 
line.  The  half-quarter  and  quarter-quarter  sections 
are  not  marked  in  the  field,  but  are  designated  on  the 
plot  of  the  survey  by  the  Surveyor-General  marking 
the  distance  on  one  of  the  ascertained  lines  in  order 
to  get  the  quantity  of  such  half  quarter  sections,  as 
exhibited  by  his  plot  of  survey. 

"A  series  of  contiguous  townships,  laid  off  from  east 
to  west,  is  called  a  range.  These  are  numbered  east 
and  west  from  the  principal  meridian  running  due 
north  and  south.  Townships  are  counted  either  north 
or  south  from  their  respective  base  lines. 

' '  Sections,  or  miles  square,  are  numbered,  beginning 
in  the  north-east  corner  of  the  township,  progressively, 
west  to  the  range  line,  and  then  progressively  east  to 
the  range  line,  alternately,  terminating  at  the  south- 
east corner  of  the  township,  from  one  to  thirty-six,  as 
in  the  annexed  diagram. 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 


117 


"The  following  will  serve  as  a  specimen  of  the 
nomenclature  by  which  lots  of  land  may  be  indicated 
in  the  system  of  the  public  land  surveys.  The  north- 
east division  on  the  larger  diagram  would  be  desig- 
nated as  section  one,  say  of  township  four,  in  range 
three,  east  from  the  third  principal  meridian  mer- 
idian, and  would  contain  640  acres.  The  smaller  dia- 
grams, numbered  1,  2,  3,  and  4,  represent  sections 
divided  into  portions  of  320,  160,  80,  and  40  acres 
each,  respectively.  The  darkened  division  in  No.  1 
would  be  designated  as  the  east  half  of  section  one,  of 
township  four,  in  range  three,  east  from  the  third 
principal  meridian,  and  would  contain  320  acres ;  the 


6 

5 

4 

3 

2 

1 

7 

8 

9 

io 

11 

12 

18 

17 

16 

IS 

14 

13 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

30 

29 

28 

27 

26 

25 

31 

32 

33 

34 

35 

36 

>;:; 


li2 


51  4 


darkened  division  in  No.  2  would  be  the  north-east 
quarter  of  section  one,  township  and  range  as  before, 
and  would  be  a  tract  of  160  acres.  The  darkened  di- 
vision in  No.  3  would  be  styled  the  east  half  of  the 
north-east  quarter  of  section  one,  township  and  range 
as  before,  and  would  contain  80  acres;  the  darkened 


118  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

division  on  No.  4  would  be  the  north-east  quarter  of 
the  north-east  quarter  of  section  one,  township  and 
range  as  before,  and  would  be  a  tract  of  40  acres. 
This  is  the  smallest  portion  of  the  public  lands  sold  by 
the  general  government." 

All  that  a  person  has  to  do,  when  he  has  pitched 
upon  a  piece  of  land,  is  to  find  out  its  No.,  etc.,  as 
above,  and  apply  at  the  land  office  of  the  district  in 
which  his  lot  it  situated,  when,  by  entering  it,  as  it  is 
termed,  and  paying  ready  money,  he  will  become  pro- 
prietor, and  will  in  a  few  months  receive  from  "Wash- 
ington city  a  patent  or  charter,  signed  by  the  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States. 

Improved  lands,  with  houses,  fences,  etc.,  may  be 
had  almost  at  any  time;  the  price,  of  course,  depend- 
ing very  much  upon  circumstances. 

Only  a  very  small  proportion  of  the  public  lands  is 
bought  at  the  sales  by  auction;  but  after  land  had 
been  offered  at  auction,  it  can  be  had  by  private  bar- 
gain at  any  time,  the  price  in  such  cases  being  invari- 
ably the  upset  one  of  1  dollar  25  cents  per  acre. 

Specie  is  generally  demanded  at  the  land  offices; 
bank  paper,  however,  if  good,  is  received,  though  it  is 
very  seldom  at  par,  and  the  buyer  has  often  to  sub- 
mit to  a  discount  of  from  five  to  ten  per  cent. 

Government  lands  are  not  taxable  for  five  years 
after  they  are  bought,  and  then  are  valued  as  first 
and  second  rate,  the  tax  on  the  first  rate  being  3  dol- 
lars 20  cents  per  quarter  section  of  160  acres,  and  on 
the  second  rate  2  dollars  40  cents  per  do.,  or  two  and 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  119 

one-half  cents  per  acre,  respectively.  This  tax  goes 
into  the  state  treasury;  that  on  cattle  and  horses  is 
appropriated  by  the  county  in  which  it  is  raised. 

Taxes  must  be  paid  annually,  on  or  before  the  first 
of  August,  the  sheriff  of  the  county  generally  fixing 
days  at  several  of  the  most  convenient  towns  in  the 
district  for  that  prupose.  Though  government  is  very 
lenient,  yet  if  taxes  are  not  paid  up  during  two  years, 
the  land,  or  so  much  of  it  as  will  pay  the  taxes,  with 
interest  and  costs,  is  sold,  commonly  for  a  mere  trifle, 
as  the  first  proprietor  may  redeem  it  at  any  time  with- 
in two  years  of  the  time  of  sale,  by  paying  double  the 
amount  of  taxes,  with  the  interest  and  costs.  If  the 
land  have  belonged  to  minor  heirs,  it  is  redeemable  by 
paying  the  accumulated  taxes  at  any  time  within  one 
year  beyond  the  time  when  the  youngest  comes  of  age. 
A  "Tax  Title"  to  lands,  therefore,  is  not  of  much 
value;  some,  however,  on  account  of  the  extreme 
cheapness  of  the  purchases,  are  induced  to  buy,  and, 
in  some  instances,  no  doubt  get  good  bargains ;  but  it 
is  evident  that  such  titles  are  liable  to  litigation,  and 
that  it  is  possible  the  claim  may  be  disputed  at  any 
time  within  twenty  years  of  the  purchase.3 

Horses  and  cattle  are  not  liable  to  tax  till  they  are 

3  In  the  instance  where  land  is  redeemable  within  two  years, 
double  the  amount  of  taxes  is  paid,  in  order  that  the  person 
holding  by  the  tax  title  may  receive  some  remuneration.  I  am 
unable  to  say  whether  such  a  course  is  followed  in  the  case  of 
minor  heirs.  I  was  led  to  understand,  however,  that  where  a 
claim  of  the  latter  kind  was  made  good,  the  interim  holder 
received  no  remuneration  for  improvements. 


120  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

three  years  old;  and  the  tax  is  an  ad  valorem  one. 
There  is  no  tax  on  sheep  or  hogs.  Clocks  and  watches 
are  taxed.  There  is  a  short  yearly  term  of  work,  on 
the  state  roads  passing  through  the  county,  required 
of  each  male  inhabitant,  a  day  or  two  for  the  most 
part  being  all  that  is  necessary.  In  some  counties  I 
have  understood  there  is  a  tax  levied  for  the  roads. 

All  the  males  between  eighteen  and  forty-five  are 
liable  to  serve  as  militia.  When  called  out,  the  term 
of  service  is  six  months,  with  the  same  allowances  as 
the  regular  army. 

In  their  intercourse  with  one  another,  the  inhabit- 
ants are  much  more  courteous  than  the  peasantry  of 
Scotland  or  England,  and  maintain  an  ease  and  self- 
possession  which  is  seldom  seen,  amongst  what  may  be 
reckoned  their  equals,  in  this  country.  In  the  West, 
distinction  of  classes  is  little  known  and  seldom  recog- 
nized. I  have  seen  a  veritable  major  invited  to  a  corn- 
shocking  ;  and  the  major  went. 

There  are  not  many  amusements,  at  least  what 
would  here  be  termed  such;  but  among  a  people  so 
simple  and  with  so  few  wants,  little  serves  to  please, 
and  I  have  seen  a  number  of  grown-up  men  playing 
at  marbles  with  as  much  noisy  zest  as  would  so  many 
schoolboys  in  this  country.  Saturday  is  often  set 
apart  for  some  amusement,  such  as  a  shooting  match, 
a  squirrel  hunt,  or  a  ride  to  some  neighbouring  town, 
where  they  lounge  about  the  stores  and  groceries,  talk 
news  and  politics,  and  sometimes  drink  a  little.  There 
is  an  act  against  playing  ninepins,  which  is  evaded  by 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  121 

making  the  number  of  pins  ten,  and  there  are  alleys  in 
many  of  the  towns. 

Horse  racing  is  a  favourite  amusement,  and  though 
not  by  any  means  scientifically  managed,  is  engaged 
in  with  as  much  enthusiasm,  and  certainly  with  far 
less  disastrous  consequences,  than  at  Newmarket.  The 
distance  run  is  mostly  a  few  hundred  yards ;  perhaps 
a  quarter  of  a  mile. 

The  Fourth  of  July,  "Independence  Day,"  is  a 
grand  affair  all  over  the  Union,  when  the  pulsations 
of  liberty  arouse  the  nation  to  its  remotest  extreme- 
ties,  causing  some  of  these  to  cut  very  curious  antics. 
I  witnessed  one  of  these  exhibitions  at  a  small  town 
in  Illinois.  On  arriving  at  the  place,  I  found  a  con- 
siderable number  of  people  in  the  stores,  inns,  and 
under  any  shade  that  could  be  got  from  the  rays  of  a 
most  intense  sun.  The  only  stir  in  the  dusty  track 
called  a  street  was  about  a  well,  which  had  been  so 
often  disturbed  by  the  descending  bucket,  that  the 
water  had  become  the  color  of  gruel.  Conversation 
proceeded  languidly,  and  as  if  all  felt  the  mere  act  of 
breathing  to  be  labour  sufficient  for  the  time.  The 
purple  martin  alone  seemed  to  enjoy  himself  as  he 
swept  past  with  his  loud  whistle,  or  fluttered  among 
a  number  of  his  companions,  at  the  gable  of  a  frame 
house. 

I  stepped  into  one  of  the  stores,  which  was  full  of 
men  lying  about  on  the  counters,  or  sitting  on  chairs, 
balanced  on  their  hind  legs,  the  legs  of  the  sitter  be- 
ing  thrown   upon   the    counter,    or    something   that 


122  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

brought  them  nearly  on  a  level  with  his  head ;  a  posi- 
tion which  has  been  ridiculed  by  people  in  this  coun- 
try, but  which  is  not  a  little  conducive  to  a  fellow's 
comfort  in  a  warm  climate,  as  it  cools  his  parboiled 
feet  by  promoting  a  freer  circulation  of  the  blood. 

On  a  previous  day,  I  had  heard  discussed  in  the 
same  store,  the  merits  of  the  person  (an  unfortunate 
wandering  preacher,  upon  whom  the  towns  folk  had 
pounced,)  who  was  to  deliver  the  oration.  The  pro- 
prietor of  the  store  addresses  a  man  by  asking  if  he 
had  "heerd  Mr.  D—  preach  last  Sabbath?"  "No," 
was  the  reply,  ' '  but  I  reckon  he  is  a  real  first  rater. ' ' 
"Amighty  smart  man,  I  tell  you.  The  way  in  which 
he  handles  things  is  a  caution.  There  is  no  dodging 
and  going  round  about  with  him ;  he  takes  the  straight 
shoot. "  "I  wonder ! "  ' ' We  have  got  him  to  fix  the 
oration  for  us,  and  he  will  do  it  well  you  may  de- 
pend." "I  expect."  "I  s'pose  you  will  be  here  on 
that  occasion."    "I  reckon." 

About  noon,  a  considerable  number  of  men  and 
boys  had  collected  in  the  street  opposite  the  "house 
of  entertainment,"  from  which  there  shortly  issued 
two  fiddles  and  a  flute,  doing  their  best  at  "Hail! 
Columbia,"  and  followed  by  the  ladies  marching  in 
pairs.  After  the  ladies  all  had  passed,  the  gentlemen 
followed,  in  similar  style.  All  was  done  with  the 
most  profound  gravity;  there  was  no  hurraing,  no 
laughing  nor  talking,  nor  indeed  any  sounds  save 
those  proceeding  from  two  very  bad  fiddles  and  a 
flute,  and  the  crowd  of  martins  overhead.     It  would 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  123 

have  been  considered  the  very  height  of  indecorum 
had  one  of  the  beaus  offered  his  arm  to  any  of  the 
ladies.  I  am  far  from  objecting  to  gravity  of  de- 
meanor on  an  occasion  like  this.  The  commemora- 
tion of  the  freedom  and  independence  of  a  people 
ought  to  elicit  feelings  which  are  not  to  be  exhibited 
in  noise  and  tumult ;  but  the  demeanor  I  have  alluded 
to  prevails  at  all  the  public  meetings  of  the  sexes,  and 
is  a  national  trait. 

The  procession  left  the  town,  and  entered  the  forest, 
where,  after  having  proceeded  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile,  it  halted  among  some  trees,  whose  foliage  temp- 
ered the  rays  of  the  sun  to  a  mellow  light.  It  was 
truly  a  fine  temple  of  liberty.  In  an  open  space, 
among  the  tall  stems  stood  a  waggon,  into  which 
mounted  the  orator,  and  another  gentleman  who  intro- 
duced him  to  the  audience.  The  oration  consisted  of 
what  one  might  have  supposed  to  be  a  series  of  uncon- 
nected scraps,  the  reminiscences  of  previous  and  sim- 
ilar occasions,  and  was  delivered  in  a  hesitating,  un- 
animated  style,  which  contrasted  strangely  with  the 
bombast  conveyed  by  the  words.  Indeed,  the  man 
seemed,  to  use  one  of  their  own  expressions,  "to  be 
in  pretty  much  of  a  fix. ' '  The  audience  sat,  or  lay  at 
full  length,  on  the  ground,  the  ladies  on  one  side  of 
the  waggon,  and  the  gentlemen  on  the  other,  whilst 
some  boys,  or  rather  little  men,  for  the  boyhood  of 
America  seems  to  be  as  short  as  its  spring,  were  over- 
looking the  whole  from  some  bushy  trees. 

There  was  no  drunkenness  or  riot  consequent  on 


124  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

this  occasion;  indeed,  the  first  example  of  drunken- 
ness I  saw  in  the  neighbourhood  was  in  a  grocery  to 
which  I  was  attracted  by  the  sound  of  a  fiddle,  where, 
on  entering,  I  found  the  barkeeper  playing  "old 
coon"  to  a  tipsy  man  who  was  dancing;  and  this  man 
was  an  Englishman.  Any  other  examples  I  saw,  and 
they  were  few,  were  of  reputedly  worthless  characters. 

Very  many  of  the  young  people  are  taught  sacred 
music;  and  "singings"  are  frequently  held,  during 
the  fall  and  winter,  at  the  different  farmers '  houses ; 
and  when  a  fiddle  can  be  had,  there  is  a  dance,  other- 
wise some  game,  such  as  hunt  the  slipper  or  forfeits, 
concludes  the  amusement  of  the  evening.  I  never 
saw  any  drinking,  nor  the  slightest  approach  to  riot, 
on  these  occasions. 

A  store,  in  this  part  of  the  country,  and  indeed  in 
America  generally,  is  a  grand  melange  of  things  of 
the  most  different  qualities,  and  it  proposes  to  supply 
the  inhabitants  with  all  the  necessaries  and  luxuries 
they  may  require.  They  are  sources  of  great  profit; 
and  a  person  with  a  little  capital  and  some  knowledge 
of  the  business,  can  scarcely  fail,  with  ordinary  pru- 
dence, to  realize  an  independence.  The  prices  charged 
for  goods  of  the  most  ordinary  quality,  are  truly  ex- 
orbitant. There  is  a  difference  of  from  ten  to  fifteen 
per  cent  between  ready  money  and  credit. 

A  grocery  is  not  by  any  means  what  the  name  would 
imply  with  us,  for,  although  it  may  be  the  receptacle 
of  tea,  coffee,  and  sugar,  it  is  not  invariably  so.  It  is, 
in  fact,  a  dram  shop ;  and  very  often  is  entirely  de- 
voted to  the  selling  of  spirits. 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  125 

Grist  mills  are  much  wanted,  and  form  a  capital 
investment  for  money.  The  average  charge  for  grind- 
ing is  now  about  one-sixth,  which,  with  wheat  at  75 
cents  or  a  dollar  per  bushel,  is  great  pay.  The  motive 
power  is  chiefly  steam  or  oxen.  The  ox  mills  are 
driven  by  a  large  wheel  inclined  from  the  horizontal 
at  about  an  angle  of  20°.  Around  the  segment  is  a 
broad  gangway,  on  which  the  oxen  are  placed,  and 
tied  by  the  heads  to  a  cross  bar,  which  is  independent 
of  the  wheel.  The  weight  of  the  oxen  thus  acting  on 
the  inclined  gangway,  puts  the  wheel  in  motion,  whilst 
the  animals,  in  order  to  retain  their  position,  are 
obliged  to  step  forward.  In  order  to  stop  the  wheel,  a 
drag  with  a  lever  is  applied  to  its  circumference. 

Good  saw  mills  are  profitable  concerns,  1  dollar  75 
cents  ready  money  being  charged  per  100  feet  for  oak 
plank  of  one  inch,  and  two  dollars  on  credit  for  a  few 
months;  whilst  three  dollars  are  charged  for  walnut 
and  some  others  of  the  scarcer  woods,  such  as  curly 
maple,  etc.  Timber  is  sometimes  sawed  on  shares, 
when  the  logs  are  hauled  up  to  the  mill,  and  one-half 
of  the  quantity  is  given  in  payment  for  sawing.  A 
good  steam  saw  mill  may  be  erected  for  from  two  to 
three  thousand  dollars;  and  a  good  steam  grist  mill, 
with  two  pairs  of  stones,  elevators,  cooler,  etc.,  com- 
plete, for  from  six  to  eight  thousand  dollars. 

I  think  wind  mills  might  be  erected  on  the  prairies 
with  great  chance  of  success,  as  the  wind  blows  very 
steadily ;  and  at  almost  all  seasons,  even  in  the  hottest 
weather,  there  is  a  breeze  during  most  part  of  the  day. 
The  only  objection  to  such  mills  would  be  the  thunder- 


126  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

gusts,  which  come  sweeping  up  with  a  thunder-  storm. 
These  axe  truly  formidable,  and  sometimes  clear  an 
entire  gap  out  of  the  forest,  level  fences,  unroof 
houses,  etc.  The  thunder  clouds  ordinarily  follow  up 
or  down  the  rivers  and  large  watercourses,  when  they 
travel  slowly ;  but  sometimes  a  portion  of  the  cloud  is 
seen  to  separate  from  the  rest,  and  to  strike  across  the 
country  in  a  line  at  an  angle  to  the  course  of  the  river ; 
and  these,  as  far  as  my  experience  goes,  are  invariably 
swept  along  with  a  thunder-gust. 

Thunder-storms  are  much  more  frequent,  and  more 
severe,  than  in  Britain.  At  some  seasons  it  thunders 
for  several  days  and  nights,  and  during  these  times 
the  sound,  near  or  remote,  never  ceases.  I  have 
counted  six  different  clouds  in  view  at  once,  and  have 
heard  it  asserted  that  a  person  may  sometimes  walk 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  the  darkest  night,  and  never 
loose  sight  of  the  ground.  I  certainly  have  been  out 
during  the  night  when  the  interruptions  were  at  such 
wide  intervals,  and  of  so  short  a  duration,  as  not  to 
cause  any  impediment  to  the  traveller.  The  light  is  of 
a  greenish  blue.  The  lightning  very  often  strikes  al- 
most perpendicularly,  but  I  think  most  frequently  in 
a  direction  nearly  horizontal,  when,  if  it  come  in 
contact  with  a  dense  cloud,  it  is  smashed  into  a  num- 
ber of  small  streams,  which  fly  off  at  an  angle  to  its 
previous   course.4     The   lightning   strikes   very   fre- 

*  When  the  lightning  took  this  appearance,  a  Scotchman  with 
whom  I  was  frequently  in  company,  used  to  exclaim,  "Aigh, 
there 's  the  tawse ! ' ' 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  127 

quently  in  the  woods,  and  it  appeared  to  me  that  at 
least  two-thirds  of  the  dead  trees  had  been  killed  by 
the  electric  fluid.  Some  of  the  trees  had  merely  some 
limbs  and  bark  torn  off,  whilst  others  were  shivered 
down  to  the  earth,  the  remaining  part  of  the  stump 
being  jammed  till  the  fibres  were  separated  as  if  they 
had  been  pounded  with  a  mallet.  During  my  stay,  a 
young  man  was  killed,  and  a  barn  and  houses  set  fire 
to  in  the  neighbourhood. 

The  climate  of  Illinois  is  warm  in  summer,  which, 
in  the  southern  parts  of  the  state,  lasts  about  six 
months  —  from  the  beginning  of  April  to  the  end  of 
September.  The  mean  temperature  of  summer  for  a 
series  of  three  years  is  said  to  have  been,  for  the 
southern  half  of  the  state,  74°  34'  of  Fahrenheit,  How- 
ever this  may  be,  there  is  very  little  doubt  that  the 
thermometer,  in  the  generality  of  seasons  is,  during 
July  and  August,  frequently  from  90°  to  98°,  and 
sometimes  100°  in  the  shade. 

During  the  summer  there  is  almost  always  a  refresh- 
ing day  breeze  on  the  larger  prairies,  whilst  the  woods 
are  hot  almost  to  suffocation. 

From  September  to  the  first  or  second  week  of  De- 
cember constitutes  the  fall  or  autumn;  whilst  what 
remains  may  be  called  winter,  although  it  is  seldom 
that  there  are  above  two  or  three  weeks,  and  some- 
times only  a  few  days  of  severe  weather.  As  the 
change  from  winter  to  summer  is  very  sudden,  there 
is  little  spring. 

The  fall  is  by  far  the  pleasantest  season  of  the  year, 


128  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

as  the  nights  become  cool  and  refreshing,  and  the 
days  are  mild  with  a  cloudless  sun,  except  during 
what  is  called  the  "Indian  Summer,"  when  the 
atmosphere  becomes  dull  and  smoky,  and  the  sun  is 
shorn  of  its  rays.  This  peculiarity  in  the  American 
autumn  sometimes  lasts  nearly  a  month  in  the  West, 
and  is,  no  doubt,  caused  by  the  burning  of  the  prairies. 
I  am  aware  that  this  theory  has  been  objected  to,  and 
that  it  has  been  urged,  that  the  effect  of  burning  the 
prairies  could  never  extend  to  the  eastern  states ;  but 
when  we  consider  the  immense  extent  of  these  prairies, 
and  how  very  generally  they  are  overrun  by  fire,  I 
think  we  may  fairly  doubt  the  accuracy  of  such  a 
conclusion.  It  is  well  known  that  in  1783,  an  erup- 
tion from  the  mountain  of  Skaptaa  Jokul,  in  Iceland, 
gave  a  smoky  appearance  to  the  atmosphere,  and 
tinged  the  sun,  which  in  colour  looked  like  blood,  in 
Great  Britain  and  a  considerable  portion  of  the  con- 
tinent of  Europe.  With  this  fact  before  us,  I  think 
it  is  not  unreasonable  to  conclude,  that  the  burning  of 
a  dense  crop  of  herbage,  over  an  extent  of  thousands 
of  square  miles,  may  produce  results  somewhat  sim- 
ilar. 

On  the  breaking  up  of  winter  commences,  what  may 
be  termed,  the  rainy  season,  the  most  disagreeable 
period  of  the  year,  when,  for  a  short  time,  the  coun- 
try is  almost  impassable,  from  the  fulness  of  the 
creeks  and  branches,  and  the  deepness  of  the  roads. 
The  temperature  of  this  season  is  exceedingly  variable, 
the  thermometer  frequently  ranging  from  30°  to  70° 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  129 

within  the  twenty-four  hours.  Early  in  May,  during 
the  time  I  was  in  the  country,  the  thermometer  one 
day  stood  at  85°,  and  in  35  hours  was  down  at  32°, 
with  heavy  snow. 

The  prevailing  winds  in  summer  are  from  some  of 
the  points  between  south  and  west;  those  in  winter 
range  from  north  to  north-west.  Easterly,  north- 
easterly, and  south-easterly  winds  are  not  frequent, 
and  seldom  continue  for  many  hours  together.  I 
never  experienced  anything  like  a  continued  gale; 
although  during  winter  and  spring,  there  was  some- 
times a  stiffish  breeze  which  lasted  a  day  or  two.  The 
north-west  wind  is  the  coldest  and  by  far  the  steadiest. 
It  seems  always  to  be  on  the  alert,  and  to  be  restrained 
for  the  time  only  by  force,  as,  if  any  extensive  atmo- 
spheric changes  take  place,  it  frequently,  even  in  the 
warm  months,  succeeds  in  giving  a  puff  or  two.  The 
thunder-gusts  are  of  short  duration. 

The  diseases  which  seem  peculiar  to  the  climate  are 
mostly  those  of  a  bilious  character  and  ague.  In 
sickly  seasons,  bilious  fever  prevails.  When  properly 
treated,  ague,  though  often  a  lingering  disease,  and 
one  causing  much  debility,  is  not  fatal;  but  bilious 
fever  sometimes  assumes  an  aggravated  character, 
when  it  speedily  carries  off  a  number  of  victims. 
"Worms  (lumbrici)  are  exceedingly  annoying  to  chil- 
dren, and  frequently  to  grown-up  people,  and  it  may 
be  doubted  whether  they  are  not  a  more  frequent 
cause  of  derangement  and  disease  than  is  generally 
supposed.     However  this  may  be,  they  rarely  fail  to 


130  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

occur  in  children  who  have  been  debilitated  by  dis- 
ease. Much  disease  is  evidently  the  result  of  a  want 
of  precaution;  a  proof  of  which  exists  in  the  very 
general  opinion,  in  places  which  have  been  inhabited 
for  some  time,  that  fever  and  ague  are  on  the  decrease. 
Now  it  can  scarcely  be  supposed  that  any  change  can 
have  been  made  in  the  climate  in  so  short  a  time,  by 
a  few  inhabitants,  whose  operations  are  a  mere  scratch 
compared  with  the  extent  of  surface  over  which  they 
are  scattered,  particularly  when  it  is  considered  that 
in  the  prairies  timber  increases  rather  than  diminishes 
with  the  progress  of  settlement ;  but  it  is  evident  that 
the  comforts  of  the  settler  have  become  increased ;  that 
many  good  brick,  frame,  or  log  houses  have  taken  the 
places  of  the  miserable  shanties  and  huts  of  the  first 
settlers ;  in  short,  that  there  is,  comparatively,  ease  and 
abundance  in  place  of  unremitting  toil  and  exposure, 
added,  perhaps,  to  meagre  diet. 

In  the  summer  months  there  is  a  disease  of  frequent 
occurrence,  called  " prickly  heat;"  a  sort  of  nettle 
rash  common  to  hot  climates. 

Exposure  to  the  heavy  dews  is  a  frequent  cause  of 
ague. 

With  a  little  prudence,  and  a  few  medicines,  with 
which  every  settler  in  the  West  ought  to  be  provided, 
along  with  a  knowledge  of  the  proper  dozes  to  be  pre- 
scribed, an  immigrant  of  sound  constitution  may  avoid 
much  sickness,  and  enjoy  almost,  if  not  quite,  as  much 
good  health  in  Illinois  as  in  this  country. 

Whilst  good  physicians  are  rarely  to  be  met  with, 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  131 

there  are  many  desperate  and  unprincipled  quacks, 
whose  universal  nostrum  is  calomel,  which,  Sangrado- 
like,  they  administer  on  all  occasions,  and  in  large 
doses.  No  doubt  a  hot  climate  requires  the  exhibition 
of  calomel  in  larger  dozes  than  could  with  safety  be 
used  in  more  temperate  latitudes ;  but  there  are  to  be 
met  with  in  Illinois,  frequent  instances  of  people 
whose  constitutions  have  been  ruined  by  the  incau- 
tious use  of  that  drug. 

When  travelling  on  horseback  through  a  thinly- 
peopled  part  of  the  country,  I  fell  in  with  one  of 
the  inhabitants,  who,  as  he  told  me,  "had  taken  the 
critter  [horse]  and,  Sunday  as  it  was,  had  been  to  the 
mill,  as  his  family  were  almost  starved  out  for  want  of 
meal.  There  had  been  such  mighty  hot  times,  that 
the  ox-mills  were  all  at  a  dead  fix  from  the  oxen  hav- 
ing given  out."  On  putting  the  common  question,  if 
there  was  much  sickness  in  these  parts,  he  replied, 
"Well,  a  tolerable  deal."  "Is  it  fatal?"  "Pretty 
considerable,  I  reckon;  me  and  the  doctor  has  had 
hard  times  of  late."  "Indeed."  "Yes,  and  although 
I  aint  none  of  the  riglar  doctors,  I  know  the  way  how 
to  kill  ague  better  than  many  a  doctor  by  a  long  shot. 
The  old  doctor  —  he's  a  mighty  smart  man  —  often 
trusts  his  patients  to  me  to  finish  them  off,  when  he 
has  more  than  he  can  manage."  "Finish  them  off  — 
how?"  "Why,  he  just  stops  the  fever,  and  I  prevent 
a  dilapse,  and  we  set  them  on  their  feet  in  the  shelling 
of  a  corn-cob. "  " You  cure  them  all ? "  "Well,  pretty 
considerable,  till  of  late,  when  the  doctor  got  a  new 


132  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

assistant,  who  ought  to  be  dogged  to  death ;  he  killed 
two  men  right  off.  The  doctor  sent  him  to  see  them, 
and  he  never  did  nothing  till  one  of  them  began  to  get 
skeary,  and  sent  for  the  old  doctor ;  but  it  was  out  of 
time;  the  man's  inside  was  gone,  and  the  other  was 
the  same  way.  The  assistant  put  out  that  same  night. 
We  did  hear  since,  that  the  man  was  no  doctor  at  all, 
but  just  a  tailor's  man  who  had  run  away  from  his 
employer  and  turned  doctor ;  and  I  reckon  he  made  a 
bad  start. "  "  But  why  did  the  old  doctor  not  examine 
him,  and  make  him  produce  satisfactory  testimon- 
ials?" "Well,  he  had  some  such  thing  as  a  letter, 
but  it  was  a  forgery,  and  as  for  examining,  the  old 
doctor  was  so  everlastin'  busy,  he  hadn't  no  time." 

I  do  not  think  it  probable  that  the  average  dura- 
tion of  life  is  so  long  in  Illinois  as  in  more  temperate 
climates.  The  human  race  comes  sooner  to  maturity, 
and  evidently  begins  to  decline  at  an  earlier  age  than 
with  us,  and,  to  an  old  countryman,  the  natives  very 
generally  appear  several  years  older  than  they  really 
are.    A  man  of  eighty  is  not  so  often  to  be  met  with. 

When  a  death  occurs,  the  funeral  takes  place  in  not 
many  hours  after,  a  circumstance  rendered  necessary 
by  the  heat  of  the  climate.  Any  of  the  neighbours 
may  attend  the  funeral  if  they  think  proper,  but  none 
are  invited,  though  it  is  expected  that  those  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  will  come.  Unless  the  death  is  very 
sudden,  the  news  of  it  are  speedily  conveyed  through 
the  neighbourhood  by  the  woman,  who  evince  great 
alacrity  in  attending  and  sympathizing  with  the  sick, 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IX  ILLINOIS  133 

it  matters  not  whether  strangers  or  friends.  Alas,  how 
much  genuine  feeling  and  hospitality  is  rubbed  off  in 
the  progress  of  civilization !  To  be  sure,  a  London  or 
Birmingham  is  rather  too  much  for  one  heart. 

There  are  few  public  burial  grounds,  and,  for  the 
most  part,  a  family  selects  some  spot  on  the  farm,  as 
a  place  of  sepulture.  I  was  one  day  wandering 
through  the  woods  in  search  of  deer,  when,  in  a  lonely 
spot,  overshadowed  by  some  large  oaks,  I  stumbled  on 
five  graves.  There  was  no  enclosure,  nor  anything 
to  indicate  the  presence  of  a  burial  ground,  beyond 
the  unequivocal  shape  of  the  mounds,  and  a  few  split 
rails  arranged  over  each,  to  prevent  an  attack  of  the 
numerous  bands  of  hogs,  which  roam  at  large,  or  of 
wild  animals.  A  feeling  of  awe  came  over  me,  such 
as  I  never  experienced  even  in  the  solemn  aisles  and 
time-honoured  fanes  of  England,  with  all  their  asso- 
ciations. —  There  was  a  sense  of  complete  seclusion  — 
a  silence  befitting  the  last  repose.  There  was  nothing 
pertaining  to  existence  to  distract  the  attention;  the 
face  of  the  earth,  beyond  the  mere  graves,  was  still 
under  the  dominion  of  nature ;  there  was  no  busy  hum 
of  voices,  —  no  "clack  of  the  distant  mill;"  there  was 
not  even  the  sound  of  an  axe,  whose  stroke  is  heard 
far  through  the  silent  woods,  whilst  the  light  shed 
through  the  thick  foliage  of  the  lofty  trees  was  in 
perfect  keeping  with  the  whole.  I  afterwards  learned 
that  this  was  the  burying  place  of  a  family  who  lived 
on  the  borders  of  the  prairie. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  Buffalo,  or  bison,  has  disappeared  from  Illi- 
nois, and  the  nearest  points  at  which  he  is  now 
to  be  found  are  on  the  headwaters  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  on  the  extensive  prairies  between  the  Missouri  and 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  This  animal  flies  from  the 
approach  of  the  white  man,  and,  to  his  delicate  per- 
ception of  smell,  the  atmosphere  becomes  tainted  by 
the  first  approaches  of  civilization.  His  home  is  the 
wilderness ;  but  whither  shall  he  flee  from  the  rapacity 
of  man  ?  It  has  been  estimated  that  ' '  at  present  from 
150,000  to  200,000  of  these  noble  animals  are  slaught- 
ered annually  for  the  sake  of  their  skins,"  and  that 
"in  ten  years  they  will  be  all  killed  off."  The  doom 
of  the  buffalo,  and  of  his  native  master,  the  red  man, 
is  sealed.  So  late  as  the  commencement  of  this  cen- 
tury, there  was  plenty  of  buffalo  in  Illinois,  and  the 
paths  which  they  made  in  their  annual  migrations, 
and  the  licks,  are  still  quite  visible.  The  paths  are 
narrow,  and  in  a  direct  line  from  the  inland  prairies 
to  the  large  rivers.  A  lick  is,  frequently,  an  extensive 
depression  with  an  abrupt  termination  at  one  of  its 
sides,  towards  which  the  other  sides  shelve  gradually 
inwards.  The  place  is  not  necessarily  a  puddle,  nor, 
in  many  instances,  does  it  contain  any  saline  admix- 
ture perceptible  to  the  sense  of  taste.    The  attraction 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  135 

seems  to  be  a  fine  greasy  clay,  of  which  a  stratum  is 
always  to  be  found  at  the  dry  licks,  and  which  is  like 
Fuller's  earth.  The  tame  cattle  at  present  on  the 
prairies  frequent  the  licks,  where  they  may  be  seen, 
not  only  licking,  but  scooping  out  the  clay  with  their 
teeth.  What  are  termed  salt  licks,  are  formed  by 
salt  springs,  which  are  numerous  in  some  parts  of  the 
state. 

The  elk  had  disappeared  from  the  state,  but  plenty 
of  deer  remain  in  most  parts  of  it,  and  are  said  to 
increase  in  number,  up  to  a  certain  point,  with  the 
population  of  a  district,  and  this  is  accounted  for 
from  the  protection  afforded  them  from  the  wolves, 
which  are  eagerly  hunted  and  soon  become  thinner, 
as  there  is  a  bounty  of  four  dollars  a  scalp  given  by 
the  government. 

The  American  deer,  somewhat  like  the  hare  with  us, 
is  not  easily  driven  from  his  range,  and  a  buck  may 
be  noticed,  a  long  time,  frequenting  the  same  locali- 
ties ;  he  sheds  his  hair  twice  a  year,  and  is  in  summer 
of  a  pale  red,  and  in  winter  of  a  dunnish  brown,  or,  as 
the  hunter  terms  it,  blue. 

The  bear  and  cougar,  or  panther,  as  the  latter  is 
commonly  called,  are  not  plentiful  in  the  prairie  dis- 
tricts, and  are  soon  killed  out.  They  frequent  districts 
covered  with  dense  and  extensive  forests.  The  meat 
of  the  bear  is  highly  prized  by  the  hunter. 

The  wolf,  most  common  in  the  prairies,  is  the  grey 
or  prairie  wolf,  which  is  destructive  to  sheep,  hogs 
(when  young),  and  calves.     Packs  of  them  are  fre- 


136  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

quently  heard  through  the  night,  howling  and  yelp- 
ing, and  their  near  approach  is  easily  ascertained  by 
the  dogs  about  the  house,  which  bark  and  howl  altern- 
ately with  rage  and  terror.  It  takes  a  dog  to  be  very 
fierce,  and  regularly  trained,  to  face  a  wolf  on  any 
terms,  and  I  have  known  one  which  would  have  en- 
gaged with  anything  else,  turn  tail  and  run  home 
from  his  master,  on  crossing  the  fresh  trail  of  a  wolf 
on  the  prairie.  Few  dogs,  singly,  are  a  match  for  a 
wolf,  which,  if  he  can  get  a  chance,  will  run  down  and 
devour  a  dog  as  he  would  any  other  prey. 

Wolves  seldom  attack  man,  and  then  only  when 
they  are  pressed  by  hunger,  and  are  in  large  packs. 
The  smell  of  blood  is  a  great  inducement  for  them, 
and  if  a  man  be  carrying  game,  or  be  wounded,  or 
incapacitated  from  shewing  a  bold  front,  they  will 
sometimes  attack  him.  A  person  with  whom  I  was 
acquainted  was  returning  one  evening  in  winter  from 
the  woods,  where  he  had  been  chopping,  when  he 
heard  a  pack  of  wolves  in  full  cry,  and  soon  became 
aware,  from  the  course  they  were  pursuing,  that  they 
were  upon  his  trail.  He  was  lucky  enough  to  have  got 
up  into  a  tree  just  as  they  arrived,  and  so  disappointed 
them  of  their  prey,  though  they  howled  round  the 
tree,  and  detained  him  there  during  the  whole  of  a 
severe  night,  and  only  departed  at  sunrise,  when  he 
got  home  almost  starved  to  death.  Such  occurrences, 
however,  are  so  rare  that  people  never  think  of  calcu- 
lating upon  them. 

The  wolf,  though  a  ferocious  and  sanguinary  ani- 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  137 

mal,  is  a  coward  in  the  main;  for,  if  once  fairly  en- 
trapped, he  will  not  shew  fight,  but  will,  unresist- 
ingly, permit  himself  to  be  stabbed,  or  beaten  to  death 
with  a  stick. 

Beaver,  once  in  great  plenty,  are  now  nearly  extinct 
in  the  state. 

The  racoon  abounds,  and  is  very  destructive  to 
Indian  corn,  which  it  attacks  as  soon  as  milk  is  in  the 
ear. 

A  coon  hunt  affords  capital  sport  for  the  boys,  who, 
when  night  has  fairly  set  in,  sally  forth  with  the  dogs, 
which  are  generally  well  trained  to  the  business.  On 
arriving  at  a  corn  field,  whilst  the  hunters  stand  on 
the  outskirts,  the  curs  are  silently  directed  to  range, 
when,  if  they  find,  they  instantly  start  full  cry  after 
the  game,  which  makes  for  the  woods,  and  ere  long 
takes  to  a  tree ;  a  circumstance  of  which  the  hunters 
become  aware  from  the  peculiar  bark  of  the  dogs.  As 
the  darkest  nights  are  selected  for  the  sport,  tumbles 
and  other  mischances  are  frequent  in  the  rush  made 
towards  the  spot  indicated.  When  the  tree  is  reached, 
materials  are  collected  for  making  a  fire.  The  flames 
soon  gather  strength  and  dispel  the  darkness,  which 
seems  only  to  have  retreated,  and  to  have  added  to 
the  deepness  of  the  shadows.  And  now  many  an  anx- 
ious face  and  peering  eye  is  directed  towards  the  limbs 
of  the  tree  in  search  of  cooney,  who,  at  length,  is  dis- 
covered perhaps  huddled  into  some  crotch.  If  the 
hunt  is  possessed  of  a  rifle,  poor  cooney  soon  has  his 
flint  fixt;  but  if  the  axe  is  the  only  weapon,  his  fate 


138  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

is  not  quite  so  soon  decided,  for  the  tree  may  be  large, 
and  when  cut  down,  he  sometimes  will  escape  through 
the  melee,  and  succeed  in  gaining  another.  Four  or 
five  are  sometimes  killed  in  a  night. 

The  opossum  is  frequently  met  with,  and  as  it  is  a 
sluggish  creature,  is  easily  captured.  On  receiving  a 
thump,  he  cunningly  shams  death,  which  circum- 
stance and  his  reported  inroads  on  the  henroost,  sub- 
ject him  to  an  exterminating  persecution. — People 
who  attempt  to  deceive  are  said  to  play  'possum. 

The  skunk  is  frequently  seen  on  the  prairies  and  in 
the  woods.  He  leaves  his  hole  about  dusk,  and  wanders 
about  in  search  of  prey  through  the  night.  "Woe  to 
any  one  that  comes  too  near  him,  for,  though  not  a  sav- 
age animal,  yet  he  possesses  a  means  of  defense  which 
procures  him  a  very  general  exemption  from  annoy- 
ance, and  of  which  the  effects  long  remain  as  a 
memento  of  his  prowess.  Unlike  the  generality  of 
heroes,  the  skunk  enters  into  battle  stern  on,  as  they 
say  at  sea,  and  by  the  discharge  of  a  most  noisome 
fluid,  soon  brings  the  affair  to  a  matter  of  flight  or  of 
suffocation.  If  any  one  is  so  fortunate  as  to  have  his 
clothes  sprinkled  with  this  fluid, 

"The  wide  sea 
Hath  drops  too  few  to  wash  them  clean  again." 

Indeed,  the  natives  assert  that  nothing  save  burying 
in  the  earth  for  some  time,  will  destroy  the  stench; 
and  it  is  very  doubtful  if  that,  or  anything  short  of 
burning  will  accomplish  its  destruction. 

Most  dogs  require  only  one  lesson  to  make  them 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  139 

ever  afterwards  very  cautious  how  they  approach  an 
enemy  who  uses  such  unhandsome  weapon,  and  whose 
discomfiture  is  productive  of  nothing  but  disgrace,  as 
they  are,  for  some  time  after  all  such  engagements, 
kicked  and  beaten  from  house  and  home.  Some  real 
varmints,  however,  can  never  be  restrained.  Dogs 
are  said  to  have  been  killed  by  receiving  the  discharge 
in  their  mouth ;  and  I  have  known  one  roll  over  and 
foam  at  the  mouth,  as  if  in  convultion. 

The  skunk  is  somewhat  larger  than  a  cat,  not  very 
active,  and  of  a  brownish  black  colour.  Most  of  them 
have  a  white  stripe  on  each  side,  extending  from  the 
head  backwards;  in  some  specimens  the  white  is  the 
prevailing  colour.  It  is  said  to  feed  upon  fruit,  and 
the  young  of  birds  and  small  animals,  and  sometimes 
visits  the  henroost ;  indeed  it  is  by  no  means  shy,  and 
will  occasionally  get  into  the  cellar  below  the  floor  of 
the  house,  when  all  possible  respect  is  paid  to  it,  and 
a  summary  process  of  ejectment  is  never  resorted  to. 

A  friend  of  mine,  returning  from  hunting  deer 
one  evening,  happened  to  fall  in  with  a  skunk,  and 
being  anxious  to  have  a  closer  inspection  of  the  animal 
than  he  had  previously  obtained,  decided  upon  shoot- 
ing it  dead  upon  the  spot,  and  so  preventing  it  from 
making  a  discharge.  He  was  only  partially  suc- 
cessful; for  though  the  shot  proved  fatal,  the  usual 
consequences  of  interference  took  place.  Determined 
not  to  be  baffled,  he  approached,  nose  and  stick  in 
hand,  and  turned  the  creature  over  once  or  twice. 
Being  aware  that  shooting  a  skunk  would  be  a  stand- 


140  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

ing  joke  among  his  hunting  acquaintances,  he  deter- 
mined on  keeping  the  affair  a  profound  secret.  On 
his  approaching  home,  several  people  happened  to  be 
lounging  about  the  door,  in  the  cool  of  the  evening, 
who  when  he  came  close  up  to  them,  with  one  consent 
exclaimed, ' '  Ah,  you  have  been  killing  a  skunk !  you  've 
been  killing  a  skunk."  For  a  while  he  put  on  an 
enquiring  and  much-injured  look,  requesting,  with 
some  hesitation,  to  know  what  they  meant;  but  the 
truth  was  only  too  palpable,  and  he  made  a  merit  of 
necessity  by  joining  in  the  laugh  against  him.  The 
unpleasant  sensations  arising  from  most  smells  can 
be  avoided  by  stopping  the  nose ;  but  the  smell  of  the 
skunk  affects  the  throat  with  a  feeling  of  tightness 
and  suffocation,  even  when  inhaled  by  the  mouth. 
After  all,  the  stench  is  exceedingly  disagreeable,  but 
I  think  not  quite  so  intolerable  as  it  is  sometimes  rep- 
resented. 

The  mink  or  polecat,  which  is  very  like  our  foumart, 
is  plentiful,  and  very  destructive  to  poultry.  "When 
it  gets  in  among  the  young  broods,  which  are  unable  to 
fly  up  to  the  trees,  where  the  fowls  roost  in  summer, 
it  exhibits  its  sanguinary  nature  by  destroying  as 
many  as  it  can  get  at.  On  one  occasion  I  happened 
to  be  a  witness  to  its  devastations  at  a  farmer's  house 
on  the  prairie.  Like  the  other  log-houses  of  the  coun- 
try, this  was  raised  some  distance  from  the  ground  by 
blocks  of  wood  placed  beneath  the  corners,  conse- 
quently there  was  some  space  between  the  floor  and 
the  earth.     The  surrounding  space,  between  the  bot- 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  141 

torn  logs  and  the  ground,  was  built  up,  except  at  one 
corner,  where  a  hole  was  left  to  admit  the  young 
broods,  which  resorted  to  the  place  at  night.  It  was 
night,  and  I  had  been  in  bed  some  time,  when  I  heard 
some  chirrups  and  half-stifled  squeaks  beneath  the 
floor.  There  are  so  many  chirruping  frogs  and 
crickets,  with  other  insects,  making  noises  through 
the  night,  that  I  had  no  suspicion  of  what  was  going 
on,  until  one  of  the  old  fowls  began  to  flutter  and 
beat  with  its  wings  most  furiously.  I  instantly  leapt 
over  the  bed,  and,  by  stamping  on  the  floor  and  shout- 
ing, endeavored  to  frighten  the  creature  from  its 
prey.  The  farmer  and  his  wife,  who  heard  the  fray, 
and  suspected  what  was  the  matter,  instantly  joined 
me  from  the  other  end.  The  hole  at  the  corner  of  the 
house  was  stopt  up,  a  light  procured,  and  the  pun- 
cheons torn  up  from  the  floor.  The  thief  was  now 
fast,  but  not  a  whit  daunted,  for  in  the  midst  of  the 
most  active  operations  of  his  assailants,  and  whilst 
running  from  one  part  to  another  to  avoid  the  pokes 
and  blows  aimed  at  him,  he  never  missed  an  oppor- 
tunity of  throttling  a  fowl,  if  it  came  in  his  way. 
Owing  to  our  inability  to  raise  all  the  floor,  he  had 
a  good  deal  of  cover,  and  the  battle  raged  a  consid- 
erable time.  At  length  it  was  proposed  to  shoot  him ; 
and  one  of  our  party  leapt  down  into  the  cellar  (a  hole 
dug  down  through  the  earth  beneath  the  floor),  and 
brought  his  face  and  head  to  a  level  with  the  space 
between  the  floor  and  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
Here,  with  candles  placed  beside  him,  he  watched  an 


142  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

opportunity,  and  at  length  shot  the  mink.  Our 
forces,  including  both  sexes,  amounted  to  five ;  and  as 
there  had  been  no  time  to  think  of  dressing,  the  scene, 
when  the  excitement  was  over,  looked  rather  queer. 

On  reviewing  the  field  of  battle  next  morning,  it 
was  found  that  there  were  eighteen  killed,  and  one 
young  rooster  "rendered,"  as  Mansy  Waugh  said  of 
the  goose,  ' '  a  lamiter  for  life. ' ' 

The  American  hare,  or  rabbit,  as  it  is  commonly 
called,  is  exceedingly  numerous  where  the  country  has 
been  settled  for  some  time,  and  is  very  destructive  to 
young  fruit  trees  and  other  garden  produce.  It  is 
about  the  size  of  the  English  rabbit,  of  nearly  the 
same  colour,  and  when  caught  cries  like  the  hare.  — 
It  does  not  burrow,  though  it  is  frequently  found  in 
the  hole  of  the  ground  hog  or  American  badger,  and  in 
hollow  trees,  to  which  it  runs  for  shelter  when  raised 
from  its  form  and  pursued.  Half  a  dozen  of  them 
may  be  taken  in  an  hour,  with  the  assistance  of  a  dog, 
and  an  axe  to  cut  them  out  of  the  trees.  They  are 
very  fat  in  the  fall,  and  are  quite  as  good  for  the 
table  as  our  rabbit. 

Of  squirrels  there  are,  in  the  West,  the  fox,  grey, 
flying  and  ground  squirrel  or  chip-munk.  The  fox 
squirrel  is  considerably  the  largest,  and  is  of  a  red 
colour,  the  fur  along  the  back  being  tipped  with 
white,  like  the  fur  on  the  back  of  a  fox.  The  grey 
squirrel,  though  not  so  large  as  the  preceeding,  is  con- 
siderably larger  than  that  common  to  Great  Britain, 
and  is  a  very  sprightly  and  beautiful  animal.     The 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  143 

flying  squirrel  is  small,  and  is  covered  with  a  very 
fine  fur,  ash-coloured  on  the  back,  and  of  a  dirty  white 
below.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  points  of  contact, 
it  has  the  power  of  inflating,  like  a  bladder,  the  skin 
all  over  its  body.  The  skin  is  extended  from  each  side 
as  far  as  the  wrists  of  the  fore  and  hind  legs,  and  this 
part  being  stretched  out  with  the  legs,  and  also  in- 
flated, there  is  afforded  a  considerably  diminished 
specific  gravity.  In  this  state  the  animal  leaps  from 
the  upper  limbs  of  a  tree,  and  floats  gracefully 
through  the  air,  for  a  distance  of  perhaps  fifty  or  sixty 
yards,  before  coming  to  the  ground,  or  to  the  lower 
part  of  the  trunk  of  some  other  tree,  when  it  allows 
the  air  to  escape,  and  the  skin  falls  close  to  the  body, 
except  between  the  fore  and  hind  legs,  where  it  hangs 
somewhat  loosely.  The  flying  squirrel  is  a  gentle 
creature,  possessing  only  a  very  small  portion  of  the 
activity  of  its  kind.  The  ground  squirrel,  as  its  name 
implies,  does  not  climb  trees. 

The  fox  and  grey  squirrels  are  highly  prized  as  an 
article  of  food,  and  are  shot  through  the  head,  to  pre- 
serve the  body  from  being  spoiled  by  the  bullet.  The 
meat,  particularly  of  the  grey  squirrel,  is  white  and 
tender,  and  the  bones  are  of  a  delicate  pink  colour. 
They  are  sad  thieves  in  the  corn  fields  and  corn  cribs. 

The  wild  turkey  is  found  in  great  numbers  in  many 
parts  of  the  state,  and  is  a  noble  bird.  The  colour  of 
the  male  is  dark,  in  some  parts  of  the  body,  approach- 
ing to  black,  with  very  beautiful  coppery,  golden, 
violet,   and   purple   reflections.     The   colour   of   the 


144  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

female  is  somewhat  lighter  than  that  of  the  male,  and 
not  so  brilliant.  This  fowl  has  not  been  improved  in 
size  by  domestication,  but,  on  the  contrary,  seems  to 
have  degenerated.  Fifteen  pounds  may  be  stated  as 
the  average  weight  of  the  male,  though  Wilson  says 
' '  birds  of  thirty  pounds  are  not  very  rare, ' '  and  that 
he  has  "ascertained  the  existence  of  some  weighing 
forty."  They  are  the  shyest  of  game,  and,  to  hunt 
them  with  success,  requires  experience  and  dexterity, 
In  the  spring  mornings,  the  hunter  secretes  himself 
behind  some  log  in  the  bottoms,  which  the  birds  fre- 
quent at  that  season,  and  with  a  call  made  of  the  bone 
of  a  turkey  wing,  or  a  bit  of  elder  with  the  pit  out, 
imitates  the  cry  of  the  hen.  If  any  of  the  gobblers,  as 
the  males  are  called,  be  within  hearing,  they  in- 
stantly gobble,  and,  if  they  have  no  suspicion,  run 
towards  the  sound,  and  on  its  being  repeated  come 
close  up,  sometimes  mounting  the  log  behind  which 
the  performer  is  concealed.  Great  care  is  necessary 
lest  the  slightest  movement,  click  of  a  lock,  or  rustle 
among  the  leaves  be  made,  as  on  any  such  occurence 
the  bird  makes  off  at  a  speed  which  defies  pursuit. 
The  hunter  frequently  searches  for  them  at  night,  and 
finds  where  they  roost  by  crying  like  a  barred  owl, 
when  they  reply  by  a  gobble.  The  young  broods  are 
flushed  by  a  dog,  when  they  take  to  the  trees,  and  with 
proper  caution  a  shot  may  be  had. 

The  turkey  is  not  very  apt  to  take  wing  in  its  flight 
from  an  enemy,  and  at  some  seasons  will  not  do  so; 
but  nature  has  endowed  him  with  a  power  of  limb 
which  is  a  sufficient  security  against  any  dog  of  ordin- 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  145 

ary  speed.  I  have  known  an  instance  of  one  being 
chased  about  three  miles,  and  then  lost,  although  it 
was  pursued  by  a  man  on  horseback,  attended  by  two 
very  stout  and  active  dogs,  quite  accustomed  to  the 
business.  The  chase  commenced  in  the  open  prairie ; 
the  man  having  got  between  the  bird  and  the  woods. 

The  pinnated  grouse  (prairie  chicken)  may  be  seen 
in  flocks  of  hundreds  on  some  of  the  prairies.  It  is 
about  the  size  and  of  nearly  the  colour  of  the  female 
of  our  black  cock,  and  might  easily  be  mistaken  for  it 
by  a  person  not  well  acquainted  with  the  British  bird. 
The  male  had  a  tuft  of  feathers  on  each  side  of  the 
neck,  which  he  can  erect  and  depress  at  pleasure.  Be- 
neath these  are  two  bags  of  yellow  skin,  which  the  bird 
can  distend  with  wind  till  they  are  about  the  size  of 
small  oranges.  At  the  commencement  of  the  breeding 
season,  and  during  the  morning  and  evening,  the 
males  frequent  particular  spots,  where  they  strut 
about  with  erect  tail,  ever  and  anon  stretching  out 
their  necks,  distending  the  orange  bags,  and  uttering 
a  peculiar  sound,  called  by  the  natives  bum-booing. 
By  this  sound  it  is  quite  impossible  accurately  to  judge 
of  the  distance  at  which  the  fowl  may  be.  I  have 
heard  them  at  all  distances,  from  fifty  yards  to  half  a 
mile,  and,  paradoxical  as  it  may  appear,  without  the 
use  of  my  eyes,  should  have  found  it  very  difficult,  if 
not  impossible,  to  judge  of  the  relative  positions  of 
the  performers.  How  far  the  sound  may  be  heard  I 
cannot  say;  but  in  a  calm  morning  it  can  easily  be 
heard  a  mile. 

The  fowl  is  excellent  eating,  and  is  caught  in  traps 


146  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

in  great  numbers  during  severe  weather,  and  the 
hunter  will  sometimes  condescend  to  shoot  a  few  with 
his  rifle,  although  he  thinks  it  a  waste  of  powder  and 
lead. 

The  quail  or  partridge  is  very  abundant  among  the 
older  settlements,  and  seems  to  accompany  man,  and 
to  increase  as  the  country  becomes  improved.  Though 
much  less  than  the  English  partridge,  it  is  quite  as 
good,  and  is  a  plump  and  very  pretty  fowl. 

Quails  are  caught  by  scores,  in  nets  of  a  conical 
shape,  and  of  considerable  length.  When  being  used, 
the  net  is  distended  on  hoops,  and  placed  on  the 
ground,  in  a  favourable  situation  among  the  bushes. 
To  hunt  quail  it  requires  two  or  more  men  on  horse- 
back, who,  having  seen  their  game  and  set  their  net, 
ride  cautiously  around,  hemming  in  the  birds  on  all 
sides  except  that  on  which  the  net  is  placed,  and  very 
often  succeed  in  driving  them  into  it.  The  bird  is  very 
tame,  and  is  more  inclined  to  run  than  to  take  wing 
from  the  presence  of  man,  particularly  if  he  is  on 
horseback.  They  are  in  coveys  of  from  ten  to  twenty 
or  thirty. 

At  the  seasons  of  migration,  the  whole  air  is  filled 
with  multitudes  of  swans,  cranes,  geese,  and  brants, 
and  ducks  of  various  kinds.  Great  havoc  is  made 
amongst  them  at  the  lakes  and  ponds  by  those  possess- 
ing smooth-bores. 

The  passenger  pigeon,  of  whose  surprising  multi- 
tudes most  people  must  have  read,  has  roosting  and 
breeding  places  in  some  parts  of  the  state. 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  147 

The  barred  owl  is  held  in  evil  odour,  on  account  of 
his  visits  to  the  hen  roost.  It  is  a  large,  powerful  bird, 
measuring  from  three  to  four  feet  in  extent,  and  can 
easily  fly  off  with  a  good  large  chicken.  Fowls,  except 
in  severe  weather,  roost  on  the  trees  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  house,  and  if  an  owl  once  commence  his 
depredations,  he  will  repeat  his  visits  nightly,  until, 
in  some  instances,  not  a  fowl  is  left.  The  only  way  to 
get  rid  of  the  offender  is  to  watch  him  some  moonlight 
night,  and  to  shoot  him.  It  would  appear  that  only  a 
few  of  this  species  turn  robbers  of  henroosts,  for  if  all 
that  are  seen  were  blameable,  it  would  be  quite  im- 
possible to  preserve  fowls,  without  shutting  them  up 
every  night. 

Fishing  with  a  seine  is  sometimes  practiced  in  the 
ponds  and  lagunes  in  the  bottoms,  such  places  being 
connected  with  the  rivers,  and  receiving  a  new  supply 
of  fish  at  the  freshets;  but,  although  caught  in  great 
numbers,  the  fish  are  by  no  means  good.  The  seine 
is  used  only  where  the  rivers  are  so  low  that  the  ponds 
are  unconnected  with  the  main  stream. 

Shooting  fish  with  the  rifle  is  a  pastime  sometimes 
resorted  to,  the  sportsman  getting  upon  some  elevated 
bank,  or  in  default  of  that,  on  a  tree  overhanging  the 
lake,  and  watching  until  the  fish  rise  to  the  surface  of 
the  muddy  water  to  bask  in  the  sun,  when  he  fires  at 
them,  and,  as  some  of  them  are  large,  frequently  suc- 
ceeds in  hitting  them.  A  fish  is  sometimes  killed  with- 
out being  touched  by  the  bullet,  the  concussion  of  the 
water,  it  would  seem,  being  in  such  cases  sufficient. 


148  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 


Among  the  novel  discomforts  of  the  West,  that  of 
insects  is  one  of  no  trifling  character.  The  whole 
earth  and  air  seems  teeming  with  them,  and  mosqui- 
toes, gallinippers,  bugs,  ticks,  sand-flies,  sweat-flies, 
house-flies,  ants,  cockroaches,  etc.,  join  in  one  contin- 
ued attack  against  one 's  ease.  No  sooner  do  those  who 
wage  war  during  the  day  retire,  than  their  place  is 
filled  with  others,  labouring  with  equal  effect  through 
the  night,  whilst  the  indefatigable  mosquito,  in  many 
situations,  heads  the  attack  at  all  times.  Half  worried 
through  the  day,  you  are  glad,  when  night  comes,  to 
get  rid  of  your  clothes  and  the  crawling  things  you 
have  felt  on  your  skin.  You  get  rid  of  the  ants,  which, 
however,  do  not  bite,  but  seem  to  be  exploring,  and 
they  explore  the  very  bottles  by  eating  down  through 
the  corks ;  but  the  ticks  require  a  more  summary  pro- 
cess, and,  if  they  have  been  allowed  to  remain  many 
hours,  can  only  be  got  rid  of  piecemeal.  These  ticks 
sometimes  cause  a  troublesome  sore,  and  being  in 
myriads  in  the  long  grass,  there  is  nothing  for  it  but 
a  regular  tick  hunt  every  night.  As  some  novels 
relate  of  their  much-afflicted  heroes,  you  "go  to  bed, 
but  not  to  sleep,"  for,  after  having  in  vain  tried  to 
oust  the  mosquitos,  first  by  puffing  and  blowing,  then 
by  striking  right  and  left,  then  by  exposing  nothing 
but  the  tip  of  your  nose  at  the  risk  of  being  smothered 
—  the  thermometer  at  90°  —  you  begin  to  summon  a 
little  patience,  and  are  willing  to  compound  for  some 
sleep,  by  the  loss  of  a  little  blood. — This  heroic  resolve 
is  scarcely  formed  when  a  combined  attack  of  bugs 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  149 

from  all  quarters,  apparently  attracted  to  a  centre  of 
which  you  are  the  focus,  settles  the  question,  and  un- 
less you  are  an  Indian  or  a  Dutchman,  drives  you  to 
the  floor  with  a  blanket.  After  a  few  hours  of  fevered 
rest,  day  and  the  sun's  rays  almost  simultaneously 
burst  through  the  crevices  of  the  loghouse,  and  sleep 
is  banished  by  a  continued  cackling  and  crowing  of 
fowls,  and  stirring  about  of  the  inmates  of  the  house. 
Having  poured  a  basin  of  water  over  your  neck  and 
head,  you  feel  somewhat  refreshed,  and  think  it  pos- 
sible that  you  may  be  able  to  take  some  breakfast. 
The  old  woman  gives  the  signal,  and  in  you  go  from 
the  bars  or  fence  surrounding  the  house,  where  you 
have  been  lounging,  and  trying  to  enjoy,  in  spite  of 
a  few  mosquitos,  the  comparative  coolness  and  beauty 
of  early  sunrise.  The  house  is  no  sooner  entered  than 
you  hear  a  continued  hum,  and  the  room  is  almost 
darkened  by  myriads  of  house-flies,  which,  in  Illinois, 
are  never  seen  out  of  doors,  and  which,  when  there 
are  sick  people  in  bed,  require  the  constant  attention 
of  some  assistant  to  drive  them  off,  otherwise,  if  the 
patient  were  a  child,  or  very  weak,  I  believe  they 
would  soon  suffocate  him.  Molasses,  sugar,  preserved 
fruit,  bread,  everything  on  the  table,  is  loaded  with 
them,  and  the  very  operation  of  fanning  them  off 
drives  numbers  of  them  into  the  molasses  and  other 
things  of  an  adhesive  nature.  It  is  not  safe  to  open 
your  mouth.  It  is  evident,  too,  on  examining  the  mo- 
lasses, that  the  small  red  ant  has  been  purloining  it, 
and  has  left  a  number  of  his  unfortunate  companions 


150  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

enveloped  in  its  mass;  whilst  ever  and  anon  a  cock- 
roach makes  a  dash  at  the  table,  and  in  nine  cases  out 
of  ten,  succeeds  in  scampering  across  over  meat  dishes 
and  everything  that  comes  in  the  way,  and  that  too  in 
spite  of  the  bitter  blows  aimed  at  him  with  knife  and 
spoon,  he  is  "so  t'rnation  spry." 

Snakes  are  numerous,  but,  with  a  few  exceptions, 
are  quite  harmless.  For  one  rattlesnake,  or  other 
snake  of  a  dangerous  character,  twenty  harmless  ones 
may  be  seen.  Everyone  does  his  best  to  kill  a  poison- 
ous snake,  and  in  not  many  years  after  a  district  be- 
gins to  be  peopled  such  reptiles  become  rare.  Rattle- 
snakes are  very  plentiful  on  some  of  the  rocky  bluffs, 
where  they  get  shelter  through  the  winter,  and  are 
then  sometimes  found  in  holes,  coiled  up  by  scores 
together,  in  a  torpid  state.  The  inhabitants  recognize 
two  kinds  of  rattlesnakes,  to  wit,  the  wood-  and  the 
prairie-rattlesnake,  or  mississauga,  of  which  the  latter 
is  much  the  smaller  and  less  dangerous.  Indeed,  I 
believe  the  danger  resulting  from  the  bite  of  these 
reptiles  is,  caeteris  paribus,  very  much  in  the  propor- 
tion of  their  relative  sizes ;  the  large  ones  bite  deepest 
and  infuse  most  poison  into  the  system.  The  bite  of 
a  rattlesnake  is  sometimes  fatal,  though  by  no  means 
invariably  so,  and  with  proper  remedies  may  be  got 
over  at  the  expense  of  some  fever  and  inflammation 
of  the  adjacent  parts.  The  Indians  have  several  snake- 
weeds, some  of  which  they  use,  by  poulticing,  to  allay 
the  inflammation  (it  may  be  by  neutralizing  the  poi- 
son), and  of  others  make  decoctions,  to  be  drunk  by 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  151 

the  patient.  The  hunter's  cure  is  not  a  bad  one;  as 
soon  as  it  is  possible  after  being  bitten,  he  pours  from 
his  horn  some  gunpowder,  which  he  ignites  upon  the 
wound;  should  the  first  application  fail  to  raise  a 
blister,  he  repeats  the  operation  till  a  blister  is  raised. 
By  puncturing  the  blister,  and  applying  poultices  of 
snake-weed,  much  of  the  poison  is  extracted  from  the 
wound. 

When  the  rattlesnake  is  irritated,  he  coils  himself 
up  and  shakes  his  rattles,  which  are  situated  at  the 
extremity  of  the  tail,  and  which  produce  a  sound 
somewhat  like  that  of  a  grasshopper.  When  attempt- 
ing to  bite,  he  can  only  uncoil  himself  to  his  full 
length.  The  word  bite  scarcely  conveys  a  proper  idea 
of  the  process  by  which  a  snake  inflicts  a  wound,  as 
there  is  no  closing  of  the  jaws  at  the  time,  but  merely 
a  stroke,  very  similar  to  that  given  by  the  foot  of  a 
cat,  by  which  the  two  fangs  in  the  upper  jaw  of  the 
reptile  are  driven  into  the  victim,  and  sometimes 
scratch  the  skin  for  some  distance.  The  poison  is 
communicated  to  the  wound  by  a  groove  along  the 
lower  side  of  the  fang,  which  is  situated  above  the 
poison  bag  in  the  jaw.  —  When  the  snake  strikes  any- 
thing, the  tooth  presses  against  the  bag,  and  the  poi- 
son is  injected  through  the  groove.  The  fangs  lie  flat 
till  the  mouth  is  opened  to  a  certain  extent,  when  they 
begin  to  rise,  and  are  nearly  at  right  angles  to  the 
jaw  when  the  mouth  is  at  its  full  width,  at  which  time 
the  lower  jaw  is  so  far  thrown  back  as  to  be  in  the 
same  line  with  the  upper  one.     The  fangs  are  some- 


152  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

what  hooked,  as  sharp  as  a  needle,  and,  in  a  snake  of 
three  feet,  may  be  about  half  an  inch  long. 

The  rattlesnake  is  very  thick  and  heavy  in  propor- 
tion to  its  length;  and  although  it  is  sometimes  seen 
from  six  to  eight  feet,  is  mostly  met  with  from  two 
to  three  feet  long.  There  are  several  other  poisonous 
snakes;  among  others,  the  yellow  moccasin  and  cop- 
perhead, of  which  the  latter  is  not  plentiful,  but  is 
said  to  be  more  poisonous  than  the  rattlesnake.  None 
of  these  reptiles  attack  man,  but  act  merely  on  the 
defensive,  and  for  the  most  part,  try  to  get  out  of  the 
way. 

It  is  said  that  hogs  kill  and  eat  snakes,  and  there  is 
a  very  general  belief  that  these  animals  suffer  no  in- 
jury from  being  bitten.  How  far  hogs  may  be  con- 
stituted to  withstand  the  effects  of  a  snake's  bite,  I 
know  not ;  but  I  have  seen  snakes  offered  to  them,  and 
never  saw  them  pay  the  slightest  attention  to  the 
reptiles.  On  one  occasion  I  carried  a  snake  alive  from 
the  woods  to  a  herd  of  swine  lying  near  the  bars  of  a 
farm  house;  on  throwing  it  down  among  them,  the 
hogs  took  no  notice  of  it,  but  another  and  most  unex- 
pected antagonist  entered  the  lists  —  no  less  then  one 
of  the  old  woman's  roosters.  The  snake  was  lying  at 
full  length  on  the  ground  when  the  fowl  noticed  it, 
and  each  seemed  to  have  an  instinctive  and  mortal 
antipathy  at  the  other.  No  sooner  did  the  cock  see 
the  snake,  than  he  put  himself  in  an  offensive  attitude, 
the  snake  at  the  same  instant  rearing  himself  up  and 
darting  out  his  forked  tongue.     After  a  number  of 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  153 

feints  and  inefficient  blows  on  both  sides,  the  cock  at 
length  succeeded  in  giving  his  opponent  a  severe  blow 
with  his  beak  on  the  back  part  of  his  head,  which  laid 
him  prostrate  in  an  instant.  After  two  or  three  more 
heavy  blows  on  the  same  spot,  to  make  all  safe,  the 
victor  picked  the  snake  up,  and  ran  off  trailing  it,  and 
pursued  by  a  number  of  hens  pecking  and  pulling  at 
it.  From  their  manner,  it  appeared  to  me  that  the 
hens  wanted  to  eat  the  snake ;  and,  had  it  been  small 
enough,  I  have  no  doubt  that  they  would  have  done 
so.  Deer  are  known  to  kill  snakes  by  bounding  on  top 
of  them  with  their  feet. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

IN  a  work  like  this,  it  may  be  thought  unnecessary  to 
say  much  about  hunting;  more  particularly  as  it 
ought  not,  in  the  slightest  degree,  to  influence  the  in- 
tending emigrant.  The  hunter  is  always  poor,  and  in 
some  measure  despised  by  his  more  industrious 
neighbours;  and  when  a  man  once  acquires  the  habit 
of  wandering  in  the  pathless  wilderness  in  search  of 
game,  it  takes  such  hold  of  him  that  he  rarely  shakes 
it  off;  indeed,  the  occupation  requires  a  vigilance  so 
absorbing,  as  speedily  to  characterize  his  whole  man- 
ner. The  old  hunter's  eye  is  never  at  rest;  meet  him 
where  you  will,  in  the  forest  or  within  the  walls  of  a 
house,  and  whilst  he  is  conversing  with  you,  his  eye 
will  be  wandering,  slowly  and  intently,  from  object  to 
object ;  and  if  on  his  feet,  he  will  be  constanly  shifting 
his  position,  and,  with  his  head  and  shoulders  de- 
pressed with  habitual  caution,  will  repeatedly  sweep 
the  entire  circle  of  vision. 

The  real  hunter  is  the  pioneer  of  American  civiliza- 
tion. He  is  the  first  to  dispute  the  possession  of  the 
wilderness  with  the  red  man  and  with  the  wild  den- 
izens of  the  forest,  and  in  some  measure,  like  them, 
is  intolerant  of  the  near  approach  of  a  population, 
bringing  with  it  the  trammels  and  interruptions  of 
civilized  institutions.     The  sound  of  the  axe  in  the 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  155 

woods  is  hateful  to  him ;  and  no  sooner  does  the  smoke 
of  the  settler's  fire  become  frequent  in  his  neighbour- 
hood, than,  packing  up  his  scanty  moveables,  and  pla- 
cing them  in  a  vehicle  of  most  primitive  construction, 
he  with  his  family  seeks  a  more  congenial  home  in 
those  solitudes  where  nature  still  holds  undisputed 
sway.  He  buys  no  land,  nor  asks  any  one's  leave  to 
build  his  hut  or  till  his  little  corn-patch. 

1 '  The  free-born  forest,  found,  and  kept  them  free 
And  fresh,  as  is  a  torrent,  or  a  tree. ' ' —  Don  Juan. 

Let  not  the  inhabitant  of  the  crowded  city  think 
that  in  doing  this  the  hunter  makes  any  great  sacri- 
fice ;  he  is  merely  giving  way  to  the  impulse  of  habit, 
and  choosing  what  is  most  agreeable  to  his  tastes.  He 
was  born  in  solitude.  No  busy  hum  of  men  —  no 
"sound  of  church-going  bell"  ever  saluted  his  young 
ears.  All  his  feelings,  all  his  reasonings,  are  influ- 
enced by  the  loneness  in  which  they  were  conceived. 
His  associations  are  not  tinctured  with  the  busy 
crowds  and  homes  of  cities,  but  with  the  still  solitudes 
of  the  primeval  forest.  He  has  not  learned  to  phi- 
losophize on  the  ebbs  and  flows  in  the  destinies  of  con- 
gregated millions,  but  he  has  wandered  and  mused  on 
the  banks  of  some  leviathan  river,  rolling  its  waters 
along,  whither  he  knows  not,  whence  he  cannot  tell, — 
a  dream,  a  mystery. 

Your  true  hunter  is  often  a  simple-minded,  unaf- 
fected child  of  nature;  true,  he  is  ignorant,  but  this 
ignorance  includes  the  follies  and  very  many  of  the 
vices  of  civilized  life.    The  worst  example  of  his  tribe 


156  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

is  he  who  has  not  fled  before  the  influx  of  population, 
and  who,  impatient  of  the  restraint  of  industrious 
habits,  has  generally  reaped  nothing  from  civilization 
beyond  its  vices  and  its  scorn. 

The  hunter  of  the  West  generally  follows  his  occu- 
pation on  horseback;  and  a  more  picturesque  turn- 
out, or  one  more  in  keeping  with  the  accompanying 
scenery,  is  not  often  to  be  met  with.  He  generally 
wears  a  broad-brimmed  palmetto  hat,  covering  a  pro- 
fusion of  hair,  which  flows  over  his  head  and  should- 
ers. His  face,  tanned  by  exposure  to  all  weathers,  is 
often  garnished  by  a  beard,  untouched  by  razor  or 
scissors  for  many  weeks,  and  his  throat,  unless  the 
weather  is  severe,  is  unfettered  by  a  neck-cloth.  His 
capot,  made  from  a  Mackinaw  blanket,  generally  blue 
or  pale  green,  has  the  broad  grey  border  fantastically 
arranged  about  the  cuffs,  neck,  and  between  the 
shoulders,  whilst  his  spacious  trousers,  of  homemade 
janes,  have  their  nether  extremities  stuffed  into  the 
tops  of  his  long-legged  boots,  made  somewhere  down 
east.  Slung  over  his  shoulder  is  a  bullet  pouch  made 
of  leather,  or  of  the  furred  skin  of  some  wild  animal, 
ornamented  with  sundry  tags  and  fringes,  accom- 
panied by  a  powder  flask,  made  of  a  fine  horn,  and 
polished  so  thin,  that  the  grains  of  powder  can  be 
seen  through  it;  a  charge  or  powder  measure,  made 
of  horn  or  bone,  with  an  attempt  at  carving  upon  it, 
and  often  with  the  initials  of  the  owner 's  name ;  and 
a  tomahawk,  with  its  head  enclosed  in  a  leather  case. 
In  the  front  part  of  the  belt  which  sustains  the  last- 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  157 

mentioned  articles,  is  a  sheath  containing  a  large 
knife.  The  other  shoulder  is  occupied  by  a  heavy  rifle, 
with  a  barrel  of  fifty  inches  long,  stocked  forward  to 
the  muzzle,  and  mounted  with  brass.  The  butt,  in  some 
instances  ornamented  and  inlaid  with  silver,  is  hol- 
lowed out  into  a  crescent  shape  at  the  extremity,  so 
as  to  sit  securely  on  the  arm,  and  thus  to  act  as  a 
counterpoise  to  the  leverage  of  the  muzzle.  —  The 
horse,  like  its  rider,  is  "unkempt,  unshorn,"  with 
flowing  mane  and  tail,  caparisoned  with  a  double- 
reined  bridle  with  Spanish  bit,  heavy  and  plated  with 
brass,  and  a  Spanish  saddle  with  heavy  brass  stirrups ; 
a  blanket  being  folded  for  a  saddle  cloth.1 

Riding  leisurely  along  the  outskirts  of  the  prairie- 
girt  grove,  he  is  seen  to  stop  at  a  point  commanding  a 
view  of  some  sweeping  vista  embayed  in  the  dark 
woods,  like  an  arm  of  the  sea,  with  many  winding 
channels  of  green  among  the  bosky  islands  of  hazel, 
sumac,  and  sassafrass.  Long  and  patiently  he  stands 
searching  the  openings  with  his  practiced  eye  to  catch 
a  glimpse  of  browsing  deer.  If,  after  waiting  a  con- 
siderable time,  he  sees  no  game,  he  moves  to  some 
other  point ;  but  if  he  should  happen  to  see  a  deer,  he 
slips  from  his  horse,  and,  by  taking  advantage  of  any 
inequality  of  the  ground,  or  of  intervening  bushes, 
and  by  keeping  the  game  between  him  and  the  wind, 

1  This  description  applies  to  the  best  appointed  of  those 
hunters  who  have  remained  among  the  settlements.  The  hunter 
on  the  frontier  settlements  is  often  clothed  in  a  hunting  shirt, 
leggings,  and  moccasins  of  tanned  deer  skin. 


158  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

he  tries  to  get  within  shooting  distance,  and  is  gen- 
erally pretty  secure  of  his  object  at  one  hundred  and 
twenty  or  one  hundred  and  thirty  paces,  if  his  rifle  is 
not  of  very  small  calibre.  Should  the  deer  run  off, 
the  western  hunter  rarely  attempts  a  running  shot; 
but  should  he  succeed  in  killing  his  deer,  and  not  be 
desirous  of  securing  any  more,  he  goes  for  his  horse, 
which  is  broken  to  stand  for  hours  where  it  is  left, 
and,  having  pulled  the  deer  up  before  him,  takes  it 
home.  If  the  deer  be  too  heavy  for  him,  or  he  wish 
to  continue  his  hunt,  he  cuts  a  forked  sapling  with 
his  tomahawk,  strips  it  of  its  top  and  branches,  and 
having  bound  the  hind  legs  together,  slips  them  into 
the  fork,  and  raises  the  carcase  against  a  tree,  to  a 
height  sufficient  to  secure  it  from  dogs  and  beasts  of 
prey;  or,  adopting  another  method,  he  climbs  up  a 
slender  tree,  and  bending  its  top  to  the  ground,  se- 
cures the  deer  to  it,  not  too  near  the  top,  by  the  hind 
legs,  when  he  lets  go,  and  the  elasticity  of  the  tree 
raises  the  slaughtered  game  to  the  height  required. 
At  his  leisure,  he  returns  with  a  small  light  sled  or  a 
cart,  and  conveys  the  fruit  of  his  hunt  to  his  dwelling. 
In  cold  weather  the  carcases  of  deer  are  sometimes 
allowed  to  remain  in  the  woods  for  a  week. 

From  what  I  have  heard  of  the  red  deer  of  Scot- 
land, he  must  be  a  much  shyer  animal  than  the  Amer- 
ican deer ;  indeed,  if  you  can  keep  out  of  sight  or  smell 
of  the  latter,  he  is  not  at  all  times  inclined  to  run  off 
at  the  snap  of  stick,  or  at  the  rustling  of  leaves,  al- 
though on  hearing  these  sounds  he  will  stand  on  the 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  159 

alert,  with  his  head  thrown  back  over  his  shoulder, 
and  his  nostrils  distended,  gazing  steadily  in  the  di- 
rection from  which  they  proceed.  But,  should  he 
catch  the  slightest  sniff  or  glance  of  a  man,  he  throws 
his  flag,  or  single,  as  the  tail  is  called,  in  the  air,  and 
with  a  sort  of  sharp  snort,  approaching  to  a  whistle 
darts  off,  crashing  through  the  bushes,  and  bounding 
over  their  tops. 

The  Kentucky  rifle  I  have  in  some  measure  de- 
scribed above,  yet  I  may  add  a  few  particulars,  seeing 
the  weapon  has  acquired  some  celebrity.  Whatever 
the  calibre  may  be,  the  barrel  is  very  rarely  below 
forty-five  inches,  much  more  frequently  forty-eight 
or  fifty,  and  sometimes  longer  than  that,  and  often  so 
heavy,  that  to  hold  it  out  steadily,  requires  an  arm  of 
no  little  strength.  Rifles  for  shooting  deer  and  other 
large  animals  carry  about  forty  bullets  to  the  pound ; 
the  bullet  in  such  instance  being  nearly  half  an  inch 
in  diameter.  More  rifles,  however,  are  to  be  met  with 
below  than  of  this  size,  and  they  are  to  be  seen  as 
small  as  one  hundred  and  twenty.  Those  from  eighty 
to  one  hundred  and  twenty  are  used  for  shooting 
turkeys,  squirrels,  and  other  small  game.  Though  for 
the  most  part  accurately  cut,  they  are  coarse  in  ma- 
terial as  well  a.s  workmanship ;  and  notwithstanding 
their  great  thickness,  they  not  unfrequently  burst  — 
a  circumstance  which,  to  me,  appeared  quite  mysteri- 
ous, until  I  detached  one  from  the  long  stock,  which 
completely  covers  the  lower  side  of  the  barrel,  when 
the  mystery  was  solved.     It  would  appear  that  the 


160  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

barrels  are  made  from  a  bar  of  iron,  the  edges  of 
which  are  brought  together,  and  welded  —  a  process 
which  might  answer  well  enough  if  the  welding  were 
efficiently  performed,  which  it  never  had  been  in  any 
instance  that  came  under  my  notice ;  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, was  sometimes  so  badly  done,  that  it  was  sur- 
prising that  the  gun  ever  withstood  the  shock  of  a 
single  discharge.  The  breach,  like  that  of  the  musket, 
is  without  any  breach-piece  in  the  stock,  which  is  of 
curly  maple.  The  lock  is  a  coarse  thing,  whose  retail 
price  in  this  country  might  be  three  or  four  shillings, 
and,  among  the  old  steady  hunters,  invariably  flint, 
with  a  double  hair-trigger.  Such  an  article  as  I  have 
described  will  cost  forty  dollars,  about  £8.10s.  sterling : 
I  am  sure  it  could  be  made  in  England  for  forty  shil- 
lings. Snapping  is  the  order  of  the  day,  and  I  have 
seen  a  fellow  snap  five  times  in  succession  with  the 
most  imperturbable  coolness ;  but  that  was  nothing, — I 
met  a  man  in  the  woods  one  day,  who  shewed  me  his 
lock,  nearly  a  new  one  and  which  he  told  me  had  only 
fired  once,  and  really  that  once  may  be  ranked  among 
the  many  mysterious  ignitions  of  gunpowder  which 
we  read  of;  the  lock,  springs  and  all,  being  made  en- 
tirely of  iron.2  A  regular  hunter  never  buys  a  flint, 
but  searches  for  small  thin  pieces  of  that  material 
about  the  creeks  and  branches,  and  these  he  prefers  to 
any  hammered  ones. 

There  is  no  use  in  trying  to  argue  a  western  hunter 

2  This  might  be  one  of  the  ' '  one  shilling  locks ' '  mentioned 
by  Mr.  Babbage. 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  161 

out  of  conceit  of  a  long  barrel ;  indeed,  he  looks  with 
contempt  on  anything  below  forty-eight  inches,  or 
that  has  not  a  muzzle  as  thick  as  a  horseshoe:  "he 
do'sn't  believe  in  a  short  barrel,  it  won't  carry  up." 
Doubtless,  owing  to  the  slowness  of  the  gunpowder 
they  use,  a  barrel  of  considerable  length  may  be  of 
some  advantage ;  but  to  prolong  to  forty-eight  inches, 
a  barrel  carrying  one  hundred  and  twenty,  or  even 
one  hundred  to  the  pound,  is  downright  nonsense,  and 
I  never  saw  any  of  them,  which,  at  eighty  yards,  would 
do  much  more  than  pierce  through  the  bark  of  an 
oak,  or  make  a  crack  louder  than  the  whiffle  of  an  air 
gun.  The  effect  of  the  charge  is  nearly  thrown  away 
in  overcoming  the  friction  of  the  bullet,  and  in  ex- 
pelling the  column  or  air  from  the  bore.  I  would, 
however,  by  no  means  confine  the  length  of  the  barrel 
to  the  point  of  maximum  effect  (i.  e.,  where  the  ex- 
pansive force  of  the  charge  has  diminished  till  it  has 
become  equal  to  the  friction  and  other  retarding 
causes ;  but  would  sacrifice  a  little  power,  in  order  to 
secure  greater  accuracy  of  aim,  which  is  much  more 
attainable  with  a  barrel  of  some  length  than  with  one 
which  is  very  short.  For,  if  the  bore  and  the  line 
between  the  sights  be  in  the  same  plane,  any  error 
committed  in  taking  the  sights  with  the  long  gun, 
will  not  be  so  great  at  equal  distances  as  will  the  same 
amount  of  error  committed  with  the  short  one;  in 
other  words,  the  angle  included  between  the  line  of 
error  and  the  true  line,  will  not  be  so  great  in  the  long 
as  in  the  short  gun.    Another  advantage  obtained  by 


162  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

a  barrel  of  some  length  is,  that,  owing  to  the  leverage 
of  the  muzzle,  a  steadiness  is  obtained  which  cannot 
be  accomplished  by  adding  weight  without  length. 
Very  considerable  strength  is  essential  in  a  rifle  bar- 
rel, more  especially  when  long;  for,  otherwise,  it  is 
apt  to  warp  when  being  discharged,  and  weight  lessens 
the  recoil,  which  ought  never  to  be  very  sensibly  felt. 
When  shooting  off-hand,  a  slight  barrel  will  shoot  with 
sufficient  accuracy,  but  with  a  rest,  and  a  hunter, 
when  stalking,  is  sometimes  so  placed  that  he  cannot 
help  resting  his  piece,  it  is  apt  to  make  random  work, 
if  the  material  rested  on  be  hard,  as  wood  or  stone. 

Though  the  western  hunters  all  agree  in  preferring 
long  barrels,  there  is  much  diversity  of  opinion  re- 
garding the  calibre.  —  It  appeared  to  me,  that  each 
was  very  much  in  the  habit  of  preferring  that  calibre 
to  which  he  was  accustomed.  So  far  as  my  own  ex- 
perience extends,  and  I  have  used  rifles  of  various 
calibre,  I  prefer,  what  in  this  country  are  termed, 
small  sizes;  and  if  I  had  my  choice,  would  not  use  a 
rifle  carrying  below  forty  to  the  pound;  and,  when 
the  barrel  is  well  made,  and  the  scroll  accurately  pro- 
portioned to  the  calibre,  should  prefer  one  much 
smaller.  A  well-proportioned  rifle,  carrying  eighty 
to  the  pound,  is  a  very  efficient  weapon  for  shooting 
anything  from  a  deer  downwards,  as  it  combines  the 
qualifications  of  not  tearing  small  game,  and  of  being 
sufficiently  powerful  for  deer  at  a  considerable  dis- 
tance. I  am  aware  that  many  people  in  this  country 
will  be  startled  at  this  assertion,  but  I  have  had  very 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  163 

considerable  experience  in  the  use  of  such  a  gun,  and 
know  that  it  will  send  a  bullet  through  a  deer  at  one 
hundred  and  thirty  yards,  and  break  some  bones  into 
the  bargain.  Another  advantage  of  such  a  gun  is, 
that  for  the  same  weight  of  lead,  you  have  two  shots 
with  an  eighty,  for  one  with  a  forty  bore ;  a  matter  of 
small  moment  about  home,  but  which,  when  a  hunter 
is  outlying  for  deer,  and  has  everything  to  carry 
about  with  him,  is  not  a  matter  of  indifference. 

Some  hunters  prefer  rifles  termed  fearers  —  a  quali- 
fication which,  I  believe,  is  given  them  by  increasing 
the  twist  of  the  scroll,  and  thereby  causing  the  bullet 
to  make  a  revolution  on  its  axis  in  shorter  space  than 
it  would  otherwise  do.  Such  guns  it  is  said,  are  more 
deadly  from  making  a  larger  wound ;  but  it  is  evident 
that,  owing  to  the  increased  friction  in  the  barrel,  they 
cannot  shoot  so  hard,  unless  the  charge  is  increased, 
and  that  endangers  the  stripping  of  the  bullet. 

I  do  not  know  the  proper  twist  for  the  scroll,  nor  did 
I  ever  see  any  treatise  on  rifles  that  threw  much  light 
on  the  subject.  One  evolution  in  forty-eight  inches, 
or,  when  the  barrel  is  shorter  than  that,  at  an  equiv- 
alent rate,  I  have  heard  accounted  the  best  twist ;  but 
it  is  evident  that  this,  although  it  may  be  applied  to 
a  number  of  different  bores,  will,  with  perfect  accu- 
racy, suit  one  only,  for  there  is  a  very  great  difference 
between  the  inclination  of  a  scroll  performing  one 
evolution,  in  a  barrel  of  forty-eight  inches,  with  a  bore 
of  half  an  inch,  and  the  inclination  of  a  scroll,  per- 
forming an  evolution  in  a  barrel  of  equal  length,  but 


164  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

with  a  bore  of  an  inch.  From  this  it  appears  that  it 
is  necessary  to  carry  the  scroll  oftener  round,  in  the 
same  distance,  in  a  small  bore,  than  in  a  larger  one. 
The  plan  for  insuring  accuracy  would  be  to  make  ex- 
periments with  a  bore  of  any  size;  and,  after  having 
found  at  what  angle  with  the  direction  of  the  bore, 
the  scroll  most  efficiently  insured  force  with  accuracy, 
to  cut  the  scrolls  of  all  rifles,  of  whatever  calibre,  at 
that  angle.3 

In  this  country,  great  stress  is  laid  on  the  charging 
of  rifles.  The  method  the  hunters  take  of  finding  out 
the  proper  charge  of  every  new  supply  of  gunpowder, 
is  one  of  the  best.  —  If  a  stranger  goes  up  to  the  door 
of  almost  any  house  in  the  backwoods,  and  looks  about 
him,  he  rarely  fails  to  see,  at  the  distance  of  twenty 
rods,  a  tree  hacked  and  hewed,  sometimes  nearly 
through;  it  is  the  shooting  tree,  and  the  hacking  is 
done  with  an  axe  to  get  out  the  bullets.  When  the 
hunter  gets  a  new  supply  of  gunpowder,  he  tries  his 
rifle  with  it  at  this  tree,  and  graduates  his  charge  so 
that  it  at  least  carries  up,  i.  e.,  shoots  point  blank,  at 
twenty  rods,  —  a  disideratum  which,  in  a  very  long 
gun  of  large  bore,  is  not  attained  without  a  heavy 
charge,  which  may,  in  part,  account  for  the  frequent 
instances  of  bursting  formerly  mentioned.     A  patch 

s  Mr.  Wilkinson,  whose  work  on  ' '  The  Engines  of  War, ' '  I 
have  seen  since  writing  the  above,  states  the  military  standard 
for  rifles  in  England  to  be  two  feet  six  inches  for  one  revolu- 
tion; but,  seeing  the  calibre  is  not  mentioned,  this  information 
gives  no  precise  data  for  ascertaining  the  angle  which  the 
rifles  constituting  the  scroll  make  with  the  direction  of  the  bore. 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  165 

of  six  hundred  linen,  well  greased  on  the  side  exposed 
to  the  friction  of  the  barrel,  is  forced  in  with  the  bul- 
let, which  ought  not  be  be  so  tight,  that  it  cannot 
easily  be  entered  and  sent  home  with  one  hand.  No 
mallet  for  entering  the  bullet  is  ever  used  by  the 
hunters,  and  yet  I  never  knew  of  their  bullets  strip- 
ping, nor  do  I  think  it  possible  to  make  rifles  to  shoot 
with  greater  accuracy.  In  taking  aim,  the  feet  are 
set  wide  apart,  and  the  body  thrown  back  upon  the 
right  leg,  the  right  elbow  is  raised,  till  the  arm  is 
perpendicular  to  the  body,  and  the  hollow  end  of  the 
but[t]  inserted  at  a  short  distance  from  the  shoulder, 
the  left  arm  being  extended  to  its  full  length  along 
the  stock.  At  the  commencement  of  taking  aim,  the 
muzzle  is  considerably  depressed ;  but  on  the  sights 
being  arranged,  is  gradually  raised,  with  a  motion 
decreasing  till  it  terminates,  and  the  gun  is  discharged 
at  the  same  instant. 

The  rifles  constituting  the  scroll  are  very  shallow  in 
American  barrels,  and  when  they  become  too  much 
worn  to  be  serviceable,  the  hunters,  by  a  very  simple 
process,  cut  them  out  again.  A  hiccory  rod,  somewhat 
smaller  than  the  bore,  is  introduced  into  the  barrel, 
and  placed  in  its  centre.  Around  the  rod  melted  lead 
is  poured  to  a  height  of  ten  or  twelve  inches,  which 
completely  envelopes  it,  entering,  at  the  same  time, 
into  the  rifles.  "When  cool,  this  plug  is  driven  out, 
and  retains  in  relief  on  its  surface,  the  scroll,  which 
acts  as  a  guide  in  the  operation  of  cutting.  A  steel 
cutter,  about  half  an  inch  in  length,  and  accurately 


166  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

fitted  to  the  rifles,  is  inserted  into  one  of  the  relieved 
parts  on  the  plug,  and  padded  behind  with  slips  of 
paper,  to  which  more  are  added  as  required.  By- 
means  of  the  rod,  the  plug  is  worked  from  end  to  end 
of  the  barrel,  each  rifle  being  deepened  in  turn. 

In  the  Eastern  States  rifles  are  met  with  of  all 
lengths  and  sizes,  but  are  almost  invariably  shorter 
than  those  in  the  West.  The  barrels  are  frequently  of 
German  manufacture,  and  some,  which  are  highly 
spoken  of,  are  made  of  cast  steel.  Some  rifles  there 
are  carrying  five  or  six  charges,  which  can  be  fired  in 
succession,  but  such  of  them  as  I  saw  were  truly 
Yankee  notions,  and  deserving  of  being  classed  with 
the  wooden  nutmegs. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

HAVING  sent  our  heavy  luggage  by  New  Orleans 
to  New  York,  my  friend  and  I  started  from  St. 
Louis  on  the  third  of  September,  tolerably  mounted, 
and  our  plunder  reduced  to  a  pair  of  saddle  bags 
a-piece. 

St.  Louis,  in  Missouri,  is  situated  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  eighteen  or  twenty  miles  below 
the  junction  of  that  river  with  the  Missouri.  There 
is  here  a  daily  and  extensive  market  for  all  country 
produce,  which  drains  a  large  portion  of  the  surround- 
ing district,  within  a  distance  of  sixty  or  seventy 
miles.  Large  quantities  of  pork,  fowls,  eggs,  butter, 
game,  fruit,  etc.,  are  disposed  of  for  ready  cash.  The 
city,  of  course,  requires  a  considerable  supply,  but  the 
numerous  and  crowded  steamers  are  doubtless  the 
cause  of  such  a  constant  and  large  demand.  There  is 
a  regular  influx  of  waggons,  particularly  towards 
evening,  as  the  market,  like  most  markets  in  the  States, 
commences  early  in  the  morning. 

The  city  contains  a  very  mixed  population,  whose 
character  is  "as  well  as  can  be  expected."  x  Murder 
and  robbery  in  the  city  and  its  neighbourhood  are  by 
no  means  uncommon.  It  was  here  that  the  populace 
forced  the  prison  and  seized  a  negro  who  had  stabbed 

i  The  population  of  St.  Louis  in  1830  was  5,852,  and  in  1840, 
24,585,  shewing  an  increase  of  18,733  in  ten  years. 


168  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

a  white  man.  It  would  seem  that  a  regular  trial,  and 
the  punishment  of  hanging,  were  thought  too  good  for 
a  slave  who  had  dared  to  raise  his  hand  against  a 
white  man,  and  Lynch  law  and  roasting  alive  were 
substituted  in  their  place.2 

A  murder  was  committed  in  the  neighbourhood  a 
short  time  before  our  arrival,  and  another  victim,  who 
had  been  stabbed  in  a  bar-room  on  the  previous  night, 
died  on  the  day  of  our  entering  the  city.  It  would  be 
unjust,  from  such  instances  of  depravity,  to  infer 
that  there  was  no  respectable  class  of  society  in  St. 
Louis,  and  my  intention  of  stating  them  is  merely  to 
show  that  there  exists  a  class  capable  of  committing  the 
blackest  crimes,  and  which  at  times  sets  the  law  at 
defiance.  Indeed,  what  may  be  termed  the  orderly 
class,  is  but  too  apt  to  execute  the  Lynch  law,  an 
instance  in  corroboration  of  which  occurred  whilst 
we  were  in  the  neighbourhood,  in  the  destruction,  by 

2  An  incident  connected  with  this  tragedy  which  I  heard,  but 
do  not  vouch  for  the  truth  of,  struck  me  at  the  time  as  being 
remarkably  characteristic  of  the  dogged  endurance  frequently 
displayed  by  the  negro.  —  It  was  related  thus :  —  On  being  con- 
veyed to  the  place  of  execution,  namely,  the  forest  adjoining 
the  city,  the  poor  wretch  was  bound  to  a  tree,  but  at  such  a 
height  above  the  fuel,  that  his  lower  extremities  were  all  but 
consumed  before  his  vital  parts  were  much  scathed.  The 
ropes  which  bound  him  to  a  tree  at  length  being  burnt  through, 
the  poor  creature  fell  with  a  crash  down  through  the  burning 
mass  and  disappeared. — Someone  ran  forward,  and,  looking  into 
the  flames,  cried  "he  is  done  for  now."  "No,"  answered  a 
calm  voice  from  the  centre  of  the  flaming  pile,  "I  am  not 
done  for  yet." 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  169 

the  populace,  of  some  houses  of  ill-fame,  which  had 
become  a  public  nuisance. 

Judge  Lynch  is  a  somewhat  ticklish  fellow  to  be 
entrusted  with  the  fasces,  and  yet  it  says  a  good  deal 
for  him,  that  he  more  frequently  uses  the  insignia  of 
the  tar-pot  and  bag  of  feathers,  than  of  the  bundle  of 
rods  and  the  axe,  though,  in  his  haste,  he  does  some- 
times dress  the  wrong  man.  Brother  Jonathan  goes 
so  fast  ahead,  that  the  law  has  no  chance  to  keep  up 
with  him,  and  so  he  does  his  own  law,  and  soon  be- 
comes so  expert  that  he  can  scarcely  be  hindered  from 
legislating  for,  and  enlightening  others. 

St.  Louis  stands  on  a  pretty  steep  bank,  and  looks 
very  beautiful  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  river, 
which  is  a  mile  wide.  —  The  waters  of  the  Missouri 
and  Mississippi  are  here  quite  distinct,  the  former 
being  of  a  brown,  and  the  latter  of  a  pale  yellow  col- 
our. Large  steamers  are  very  frequently  arriving 
and  departing,  and  there  is  a  constant  bustle  of  lading 
and  dislading  at  the  levee.  The  city  is  supplied  with 
coals  from  the  bluff  on  the  Illinois  side  of  the  river, 
to  whose  bank  they  are  conveyed  a  distance  of  six 
miles,  by  a  railway  across  the  American  Bottom.  A 
steam  ferry-boat  plies  constantly  through  the  day ;  the 
fare  is  about  sixpence  sterling. 

Immediately  opposite  St.  Louis,  the  American  bot- 
tom is  twelve  miles  wide,  in  some  places  densely 
wooded  and  intersected  with  ponds  and  back-waters, 
and  in  others,  consisting  of  prairie,  interrupted  by 
groves  of  pinoak    (laurel  oak),  hiccory,  persimmon, 


170  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

paw-paw,  etc.  The  plain,  in  many  places,  abounds 
with  those  ancient  mounds  which  are  so  frequently 
met  with  in  many  parts  of  the  States,  and  which  here 
in  some  instances  run  in  a  continuous  line  for  a  con- 
siderable distance.  They  may  range  from  ten  to  thirty 
or  forty  feet  in  height,  and  there  is  one  which  is  said 
to  be  ninety  feet;  but  which  appeared  to  me  to  be 
considerable  higher.  Their  shapes  are  various,  some 
being  conical,  others  oval,  and  others  more  or  less 
angular,  whilst  some  have  buttresses  carried  from 
the  base  to  the  top,  giving  the  mound  a  fluted  ap- 
pearance. The  large  mound  3  above  alluded  to  has  a 
platform  running  round  the  south  side,  at  about  half 
its  height,  and  the  cone  which  rises  from  this  is  flat  on 
the  top.  The  base,  whose  circumference  is  said  to  be 
six  hundred  yards,  appeared  to  be  a  polygon,  but  of 
how  many  sides  I  did  not  ascertain,  as  I  could  not 
ride  round  it  for  fences  and  corn  fields.  The  earth  for 
the  construction  of  this  huge  mass  has  been  lifted 
from  the  circumference  of  its  base,  as  is  evident  from 
the  regular  ditch-like  depression  intervening  between 
it  and  the  surface  of  the  prairie.  —  On  the  north  side, 
which  I  could  not  get  at,  it  appeared  to  me  that  the 
ground  naturally  fell  away  towards  a  creek  in  the 
immediate  neighbourhood.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  the 
immense  ditch  contained  water,  which  has  either  been 

3  I  believe  this  is  the  mound  called  ' '  Monk  Hill ' '  from  the 
circumstance  of  some  monks  of  the  order  of  La  Trappe  having 
sometime  resided  upon  it.  They  left  in  1813,  and  returned  to 
France,  whence  they  had  fled  during  the  revolution. 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  171 

drained  away  artificially  or  by  the  natural  depression 
of  the  creek.  Water  sometimes  occurs  in  the  depres- 
sions of  the  surface,  which,  so  far  as  I  saw,  invariably 
accompanied,  and  were  always  proportioned  to  the 
size  of  the  mounds.  The  large  mound  is  sprinkled 
with  trees,  and  there  is  a  level  space  on  its  top,  where 
someone  has  built  a  nice-looking  frame  house,  from 
which  there  must  be  an  extensive  view  of  prairie, 
bluff,  and  forest.  From  the  great  quantities  of  bones 
said  to  be  contained  in  some  of  these  mounds,  it  is 
very  probable  that  the  small  ones  of  them  at  least  had 
been  used  as  places  of  sepulture,  and,  perhaps,  those 
even  of  large  extent,  but  of  no  great  altitude,  were 
used  for  the  same  purpose;  but  there  can  be  little 
doubt,  from  the  size  and  construction  of  others,  that 
they  were  intended  for  places  of  defence.  There  are 
some  large  specimens  in  the  city  and  neighbourhood 
of  St.  Louis. 

The  heat  and  dust  in  crossing  the  bottom  were  truly 
oppressive.  As  the  tracks  from  different  parts  of  the 
state  towards  St.  Louis  converge  and  coalesce,  the 
passage  upon  them  becomes  very  considerable,  and 
the  dust  gets  beaten  to  an  impalpable  powder,  which 
the  slightest  movement  raises  in  clouds.  The  travel- 
ler's clothes  soon  become  so  completely  powdered  that 
it  is  difficult  to  distinguish  their  original  colour,  and, 
as  he  perspires  freely,  his  face  acquires  the  hue  of  a 
chimney  sweep.  Our  horses  were  tormented  with 
greenhead  flies,  which  suck  their  blood,  and  by  the 
bots  fly,  which,  though  not  a  bloodsucker,  is,  to  a 


172  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

horse,  the  most  intolerable  of  insects.  This  fly,  which 
is  somewhat  like  our  gad-fly,  in  its  colour,  size,  and 
mode  of  flight,  deposits  its  eggs  on  the  long  hairs  of 
the  back  part  of  the  fore-leg,  between  the  knee  and 
the  pastern,  on  the  flanks,  and  generally,  wherever 
the  horse  can  reach  with  his  mouth,  so  that,  in  scratch- 
ing himself,  the  eggs  may  be  introduced  and  swallowed 
with  his  food;  from  these  eggs,  bots  (the  fly  in  its 
larva  stage)  are  produced,  which  cause  so  much  dis- 
tress to  the  horses,  and  which  finally  pass  through  and 
become  the  fly.  The  places  of  deposit,  particularly 
those  above  mentioned,  frequently  appear  quite  gray, 
from  the  number  of  eggs.  The  fly  is  very  wary  and 
very  dexterous  in  its  operations.  After  flying  about 
for  some  time,  as  if  reconnoitering,  it  approaches 
some  particular  spot,  and,  poising  itself  in  the  air, 
in  an  instant  has  deposited  an  egg  upon  a  hair,  from 
a  flexible  oviduct,  and  is  away  fifteen  or  twenty  feet. 
The  egg  seems  to  adhere  by  some  glutinous  matter. 
By  what  secret  sympathy  the  horse  becomes  aware  of 
the  operation,  I  know  not;  but  the  moment  the  fly 
touches  the  hair,  which  it  does  on  the  wing,  never 
sitting  down  or  adhering,  he  starts  as  if  struck  with 
a  spur,  snorts  and  rears,  and  sometimes  becomes  quite 
unmanageable.  A  horse  which  will  endure,  without 
flinching,  the  united  attack  of  scores  of  greenheads, 
will  become  quite  outrageous  at  a  touch,  so  very  slight, 
that  I  never  could  distinguish  that  it  even  bent  the 
hair. 

There  are,  on  this  part  of  the  American  Bottom,  a 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  173 

good  many  enclosures,  and  some  straggling  villages, 
whose  population,  in  one  or  two  instances,  is  almost 
wholly  French ;  the  descendents  of  the  original  explor- 
ers of  this  part  of  the  country.  The  ancient  bluff  is, 
in  some  parts,  denuded  of  trees,  and  consists  of  a  series 
of  sharp-pointed  knobs  clothed  with  grass,  and  looking 
in  the  distance  like  a  range  of  hills. 

On  approaching  the  bluff,  which  was  here  covered 
with  forest,  our  horses  mended  their  pace,  as  if  anxious 
to  gain  the  shade.  We  had  hardly  entered  the  woods, 
and  begun  to  climb  the  steep  ascent,  when  our  ears 
were  saluted  with  a  loud  hallo;  and,  on  looking  to 
the  right,  we  saw  sitting  on  the  grass,  in  a  deeply- 
shaded  hollow,  three  people  with  a  waggon  and  two 
horses.  — ' '  Strangers, ' '  cried  a  man  of  the  party, 
holding  up  the  remains  of  a  water  melon  about  the 
size  of  a  half  moon,  "may  be  you'd  like  to  ate  a  little 
uv  this?"  As  the  proposal  was  a  most  agreeable  one 
at  such  a  juncture,  we  acceeded  to  it  at  once ;  and 
having  hitched  up  our  horses,  joined  the  party,  which 
turned  out  to  be  a  man  with  his  wife  and  son,  who 
came  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Vandalia,  and  were 
thus  far  on  their  return  from  market  at  St.  Louis. 
In  conversation,  we  learned  that  the  man  was  origin- 
ally from  Ireland,  and  that  he  had  settled  at  first  in 
one  of  the  Carolinas,  from  which  he  had  lately  re- 
moved to  his  present  location  near  Vandalia.  On 
asking  him  why  he  had  removed  from  the  South,  we 
got  the  old  story,  that  a  man  who  had  not  a  number 
of  slaves  and  a  large  estate  was  despised  by  the  plant- 


174  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

ers,  and  was,  in  fact,  almost  deprived  of  society;  as 
those  who  considered  themselves  above  him,  would 
hold  no  intercourse  with  him,  and  those  of  his  own 
class  were  comparatively  few  in  number. 

In  the  afternoon  we  reached  Collinsville,  a  town  of 
a  few  years  old ;  but  which,  like  the  young  men  in  this 
country,  had  quite  as  much  pretention  as  if  it  had 
existed  for  centuries.  It  contained  a  church,  a  sab- 
bath school,  a  mill,  a  store,  and  the  never-failing  hotel. 
Mr.  Collins,  a  down-easter,  and  the  founder  of  this 
notion,  kept  the  hotel,  which  was  one  of  the  cleanest 
and  best  it  was  our  fortune  to  fall  in  with  for  some 
time ;  to  be  sure,  when  we  asked  where  the  stable  was, 
we  were  told  ' '  he  hadn  't  had  time  to  get  it  fixt  up  yet, 
but  there  was  a  most  beautiful  blackjack  oak,  through 
which  the  sun  couldn't  shine  no  how."  Mr.  Collins, 
thinking  we  were  on  the  look-out  expatiated  at  great 
length  on  the  many  advantages,  and  the  salubrity  of 
the  neighbourhood,  and  of  Collinsville  in  particular; 
indeed,  he  made  it  appear  that  folks  must  have  been 
most  unaccountably  blind,  not  to  have  sooner  dis- 
covered its  many  most  estimable  qualities.  In  spite 
of  his  assertion,  however,  there  was  much  sickness  at 
this  time,  not  only  in  less  favoured  parts,  but,  if  we 
might  believe  our  eyes,  among  the  inmates  of  the  Col- 
linsville hotel ;  but  these,  Mr.  Collins  said,  were  board- 
ers, who  had  come  from  St.  Louis  to  get  cured. 

Leaving  Collinsville,  we  arrived  after  sundown  at 
Troy,  on  Ridge  Prairie.  On  being  shown  to  bed  in 
the  only  hotel  of  the  place,  we  found  the  end  of  the 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  175 

room  where  the  gable  should  have  been,  entirely  desti- 
tute of  that  architectural  feature,  so  that  we  had  an 
uninterrupted  view  of  the  stars,  and  the  benefit  of  any 
chance  breeze  that  might  be  stirring,  whilst  indefatig- 
able eatydids  serenaded  us  through  the  livelong  night. 
The  bats,  with  whose  nightly  visitations,  in  search  of 
house-flies  and  mosquitoes,  we  had  long  been  familiar, 
and  whose  wings  we  frequently  heard  flapping  within 
a  few  inches  of  the  face,  might  here  come  and  go  with- 
out being  put  to  the  trouble  of  creeping  in  and  out  of 
some  cranny. 

Here  we  fell  in  with  two  Missouri  drovers,  who  had 
been  at  Kentucky  buying  sheep,  and  were  on  their 
return  with  about  three  hundred  of  these  animals  of 
an  impure  merino  breed.  There  are,  as  yet,  no  large 
flocks  in  Missouri,  and  these  men  proposed  getting 
quit  of  their  drove  by  selling  it  in  detail,  in  small 
numbers,  to  the  newly-settled  farmers  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  St.  Charles,  and  on  the  Riviere  au  Cuivre, 
in  Missouri. 

Our  horses  had  not  yet  been  shod,  and  as  we  were 
about  to  enter  on  a  thinly-peopled  district,  we  thought 
it  necessary,  as  a  matter  of  precaution,  to  have  that 
operation  performed  here  where  there  chanced  to  be 
a  blacksmith's  shop.  The  Vulcan  of  this  modern  Troy 
was  a  little  broad-faced  Frenchman,  who  hammered 
and  chatted  away  with  equal  facility.  On  my  men- 
tioning the  sickness  so  prevalent  at  the  time,  he  re- 
marked, "it  is  all  very  true,  de  sickness  has  been  great, 
but  ve  have  de  doctor ;  ah,  he  is  a  mighty  smart  man ! 


176  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

I  reckon  de  vay  in  vich  he  can  cure  de  fever  is  a  cau- 
tion wen  he  is  sober;  but  he  is  an  old  seaman,  and 
likes  de  cogniac.  De  oder  night  he  vas  sent  for,  but 
he  could  not  go,  as  he  told  dem  he  was  hard  aground ; 
however,  dey  insist,  and  lift  him  on  his  horse,  and  put 
out  vid  him  von  on  each  side.  Ah,  he  is  a  mighty 
smart  man. ' ' 

During  the  time  the  horses  were  being  shod,  there 
rode  up  to  the  shop  door  a  young  man,  who,  for  some 
time,  sat  moodily  watching  the  operation.  At  length 
he  said,  "Well,  Mr.  Dupin,  I  reckon  you  heard  about 
that  ere  frolic  at  Bates's  the  other  evening?"  —  the 
blacksmith  nodded  assent  — ' '  and  that  Tom  Jervis 
and  me  had  a  fight,  and  Tom  whipped  me?"  Another 
nod  from  the  smith,  who  seemed  desirous  of  saying  as 
little  as  possible.  "But  if  it  hadn't  been  that  I  was 
the  worse  for  liquor,  and  he  got  me  down,  the  way  in 
which  I  would  have  walked  into  him  would  have  been 
a  caution.  I'd  have  whipped  him  like  forty;  but 
I  'm  not  done  with  him  yet,  and  I  'm  on  the  hunt  for 
him  to-day,  and  if  I  can't  whip  him  I  can  shoot  him, 
and  here 's  the  thing  that  can  do  it. ' '  Here  he  pulled 
from  the  pocket  of  his  capacious  trowsers  the  brass- 
mounted  but-end  of  a  horse-pistol,  at  which  the  little 
blacksmith  gave  a  furtive  glance,  without  pausing  in 
his  operations.  "I'll  shoot  him  as  cold  as  a  cla'-bor' 
(clapboard),  and  'taint  far  to  Missouri."  After 
some  more  conversation  of  a  similar  nature,  and  of 
which  a  large  proportion  consisted  of  the  most  dread- 
ful backwoods  imprecations,  the  fellow  departed.    The 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  177 

blacksmith  stood,  hammer  in  hand,  looking  after  him 
some  time,  and  then  giving  his  shoulders  a  silent 
shrug,  went  on  with  his  work. 

The  prairie  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Troy,  in  Madi- 
son county,  is  perhaps  as  rich  as  any  that  we  saw 
during  our  journey,  and  the  corn  and  other  crops 
were  of  excellent  quality.  Much  of  the  corn  was  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  feet  high,  and  it  was  easy  to  see,  from 
the  stubbles,  that  wheat  had  been  excellent.  In 
answer  to  a  question  I  put,  a  person  told  me,  that  a 
field  had  yielded  at  the  rate  of  forty  bushels  per  acre ; 
this,  however,  I  did  not  believe,  for  although  it  was 
evident  that  the  crop  had  been  a  good  one,  the  number 
of  bushels  stated  was  far  beyond  anything  that  came 
within  my  own  experience.  From  all  I  saw,  or  could 
learn,  it  would  be  unsafe  to  calculate  on  more  than 
twenty-two  bushels  per  acre.  We  found  that  it  would 
not  do  to  place  implicit  confidence  in  the  information 
we  got  from  strangers,  for  travellers  making  enquiries 
about  the  capabilities  of  a  district,  are  always  under- 
stood to  be  on  the  look-out  for  a  location ;  and  many 
of  those  already  located  are  willing  to  sell,  and  it  is 
obviously  the  interest  of  all  that  a  neighbourhood 
should  soon  be  peopled. 

On  leaving  Troy,  we  fell  in  with  a  man,  who  told 
us  that  he  had  moved  to  this  neighbourhood  from  the 
famous  Sangamon  county,  and  that  he  liked  it  better, 
as  the  land  was  equally  good,  and  it  was  easier  to  fall 
in  with  a  suitable  farm  than  in  Sangamon,  which  was 
nearly  bought  up  and  mostly  peopled  by  Yankees, 


178  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

whom  he  did  not  like.  This  last  objection  I  had  previ- 
ously heard  stated,  and  the  western  people  generally 
seem,  I  think  unfairly,  prejudiced  against  their  east- 
ern countrymen,  who  are  decidedly  the  most  enter- 
prising farmers  in  the  West.  They  may  be  a  little  too 
"slick"  for  the  Illinois  suckers. 

There  is  a  tract  of  country  here,  comprehending 
parts  of  the  counties  of  Madison,  St.  Clair,  and  Ran- 
dolph, which  I  have  frequently  heard  said,  will  bear 
comparison  with  most  districts  in  the  state,  as  regards 
capabilities  of  soil  and  situation. 

A  few  miles  to  the  north-east  of  Troy,  we  entered 
on  the  Marine  Settlement.  This  settlement,  which  is 
situated  on  a  large  and  beautiful  prairie,  consists  of 
grants,  which,  we  are  told,  had  been  made  to  retired 
officers  of  the  American  navy.  The  face  of  the  coun- 
try is  high,  undulating,  and  well  watered,  and  the  dis- 
trict is  said  to  be  healthy.  The  houses  on  this  settle- 
ment are  large  and  comfortable-looking  mansions,  sur- 
rounded by  well-fenced  farms,  though  it  is  evident 
that  some  of  these  are  not  in  a  very  flourishing  condi- 
tion. We  were  told  that  the  old  tars  were  too  liberal 
in  the  rites  of  hospitality  to  get  rich,  and  that  after 
having  plowed  the  ocean  so  long,  they  did  not  take 
kindly  with  plowing  the  prairie. 

Here,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  West,  there  are  no 
inns  except  in  the  towns,  or  on  the  most  frequented 
routes,  consequently  the  traveller  must  shift  in  the 
best  way  he  can,  and  when  in  want  of  food  for  him- 
self or  his  horse  must  request  all  such  accomodation 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  179 

as  a  favour,  besides  paying  for  it.  We  very  seldom 
found  much  difficulty,  however,  in  getting  either 
food  or  lodging,  such  as  it  was ;  but  when  an  instance 
did  occur,  in  which  we  were  refused  admittance,  we 
took  the  thing  calmly,  and  jogged  on  with  the  best 
grace  we  might.  Just  as  we  were  about  to  leave  the 
Marine  Settlement,  we  rode  up  to  a  house,  and  on  ar- 
riving at  the  fence,  which  is  generally  found  either 
surrounding  the  house  or  enclosing  a  small  space  on 
its  front,  we  saw  the  owner  reclining  in  the  shade  of 
the  stoop,  with  his  chair  tilted  on  its  hind  legs,  and 
his  feet  deposited  on  the  table.  On  our  asking  if  he 
would  let  us  have  some  food  for  our  horses,  he  replied 
"no."  As  the  day  was  very  hot,  and  we  were  thirsty, 
we  asked  if  we  might  come  over  to  his  well  and  draw 
some  water,  and  on  his  saying  "yes,"  we  hitched  our 
horses  to  the  fence,  and  drew  up  a  bucket  of  water. 
Not  another  word  passed,  except  a  question  about  the 
quality  of  some  apples  which  lay  near,  and  to  which 
he  replied  shortly,  but  quite  civilly.  It  was  evident 
that  he  did  not  want  to  be  troubled  with  us,  but  it 
was  quite  as  evident  that  he  meant  nothing  disre- 
spectful, and  we  should  have  been  very  foolish  if  we 
had  felt  annoyed  at  his  conduct. 

After  travelling  a  mile  or  two,  we  made  another 
application  at  a  house  on  the  way-side,  where  we  were 
more  successful ;  and  after  watering  and  getting  some 
food  for  our  horses,  we  entered  the  house,  which  was 
neat  and  comfortable.  The  boarded  walls  of  the 
room  into  which  we  were  introduced,  were  furnished 


180  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

with  some  indifferent  prints,  and  some  samples  of 
needlework,  which  latter  we  thought  were  wrought 
by  two  young  women,  the  daughters  of  our  hostess. 
The  lady  of  the  house  was  tidily  dressed,  and  ap- 
peared more  buxom,  and  was  less  reserved  in  her  man- 
ner, than  the  generality  of  females  in  that  part  of 
the  country.  After  adroitly  manceuvering  till  she 
found  out  where  we  were  from,  she  complimented  us 
by  giving  us  the  history  of  her  fortunes,  and  to  do  her 
justice,  it  must  be  said  that  she  had  very  few  mis- 
fortunes to  complain  of.  She  told  us  that  she  had 
come  from  Pennsylvania,  that  her  husband  was  a 
blacksmith,  and  that  he  wrought  at  his  trade  and 
cultivated  some  land  which  he  had  purchased.  When 
tired  of  speaking  of  her  own  affairs,  she  gave  us  the 
history  of  some  of  her  neighbours,  and  chatted  away 
with  great  good  humour,  without  appearing  to  be 
concerned  about  anything  under  the  sun;  but  an 
eclipse  of  that  luminary,  which,  she  had  been  in- 
formed, was  to  take  place  in  a  day  or  two,  caused 
her  some  anxious  thoughts,  and  she  did  not  well  know 
what  to  make  of  it.  She  had  been  told,  she  said,  by 
some  very  good  people,  that  such  things  brought  bad 
luck,  and  that  they  were  always  followed  by  war, 
pestilence,  or  some  disaster.  To  be  sure,  sickness  had 
been  mighty  bad  that  season,  but  then,  it  had  begun 
before  the  clip.  She  went  on  to  say  that  as  the  clip 
was  to  be  total,  as  they  called  it,  who  could  tell  if  the 
sun  would  ever  come  back  again;  their  doctor,  who 
was  a  mighty  smart  man,  and  knew  'most  everything, 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  181 

had  laughed  at  her,  and  said  all  such  stories  were 
nonsense,  Finally,  she  asked  our  serious  opinion  on 
the  subject,  and  seemed  glad  when  we  told  her  that 
we  agreed  with  the  doctor. 

We  got  the  most  capital  dinner,  for  in  the  kindness 
of  her  heart  our  hostess  seemed  to  have  ransacked  her 
whole  larder;  and  we  sat  down  to  a  table  literally 
encumbered  with  dishes,  The  whole  charge  was  25 
cents  each. 

On  travelling  by  the  more  frequented  tracks,  and 
where  inns  and  houses  of  entertainment  are  rare,  the 
farmers  by  the  way  seldom  refuse  to  entertain  and 
lodge  travellers;  though  many  of  them,  I  am  aware, 
would  much  rather  not  be  troubled  in  that  way,  for, 
though  they  do  in  self-defense  make  a  charge,  yet  their 
accommodation  is  often  but  scanty,  and  they  are  put 
to  very  considerable  inconvenience. 

A  few  miles  further  we  entered  on  a  branch  of 
Looking-glass  prairie,  Bond  county,  where  long 
reaches  of  green,  undulating  prairie  stretched  away 
till  they  became  lost  in  the  haze  of  distance;  and, 
within  a  few  hours  of  sunset,  we  emerged  from  a  grove 
on  the  shore  of  one  which  lay  stretched  out  before 
us  like  an  ocean.  In  the  direction  which  the  track  we 
were  following,  took,  we  could  just  distinguish  the 
forest  like  a  low  bank  of  cloud,  whilst  on  our  right 
the  prairie  stretched  away,  one  vast  plain,  uninter- 
rupted by  tree  or  bush,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach. 
The  prospect,  though  grand,  was  by  no  means  en- 
couraging, as  it  was  evident  that  all  the  speed  we 


182  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

could  muster  would  be  barely  sufficient  to  ensure  our 
crossing  before  dark. 

We  entered  on  the  track  at  our  best  pace,  and  yet, 
for  a  considerable  time,  the  dark  stripe  of  forest  ap- 
peared as  indistinct  as  when  we  commenced.  The 
solitude  of  the  forest  is  not  half  so  oppressive  as  that 
of  the  ocean-like  prairie.  There  is  variety,  and  one 
can  always  find  something  to  admire  in  the  forest; 
one  can  hold  converse  with  the  monarchs  of  ages, 
whose  limbs  have  shadowed  the  red  man  long  before 
the  "pale  faces"  came  to  drive  him  from  the  land  of 
his  fathers;  one  can  admire  the  deer  as  he  bounds 
away,  or  the  stately  turkey,  with  his  beautiful  and 
varying  plumage,  as  he  darts  off  with  the  speed  of  a 
hound;  there  is  the  lively  squirrel,  too,  and,  should 
the  time  be  spring,  that  prince  of  songsters,  the  fer- 
rugineous  thrush ;  though  he,  as  if  unwilling  to  throw 
his  music  away  on  the  unpeopled  wilderness,  is  most 
frequently  heard  near  some  settlement ;  above  all,  one 
cannot  see  half  a  day's  journey  before  him  (except  in 
some  instances  where  lines  have  been  cut  for  roads), 
and  is  always  in  hope  for  something,  however  trifling, 
occurring  to  beguile  the  way;  whereas  the  middle  of 
one  of  these  large  prairies  is  a  perfect  solitude,  with- 
out a  living  thing,  except  such  as  one  would  rather 
want  than  have,  viz.,  greenhead  flies  in  thousands, 
snakes  basking  on  the  dusty  track,  and  myriads  of 
grasshoppers,  some  of  them  as  large  as  the  little  finger, 
darting  through  the  air  like  arrows,  and  sometimes 
coming  full  tilt  against  the  face. 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  183 

We  had  for  some  time  seen,  in  the  direction  we  were 
travelling,  what  we  hoped  from  its  appearance  was  a 
column  of  smoke,  though  we  had  some  suspicion  that 
it  might  turn  out  a  cloud  of  dust  raised  by  some  trav- 
eller. It  brought  us  in  mind  of  the  smoke  of  a  steamer 
seen  at  sea,  when  the  vessel  is  below  the  horizon ;  and 
some  time  passed  before  we  became  fully  aware  that 
it  was  dust,  raised  by  something  coming  towards  us ; 
and,  bye  and  bye,  we  could  see  a  person  on  horseback, 
with  whom  we  finally  met  about  the  middle  of  the 
prairie. 

Travellers,  when  they  meet  in  the  wilder  districts, 
mostly  stop  and  chat  for  a  short  time,  as  each  can  give 
to  the  other  some  information  about  the  route  he  has 
come.  In  this  instance,  we  inquired  the  distance  to 
the  nearest  place  where  it  was  likely  we  should  be 
able  to  procure  a  night's  lodging,  with  a  description 
of  the  route  to  it.  He  told  us  there  was  situated  on 
the  margin  of  the  woods  which  we  were  nearing,  a 
house  where  he  thought  we  might  ' '  get  a  stay. ' '  Hav- 
ing got  a  minute  description  of  the  house  and  its 
locality,  we  resumed  our  journey. 

The  people  in  the  backwoods  are  capital  in  giving 
directions  to  a  traveller  for  the  route  he  is  to  follow ; 
not  the  slightest  peculiarity  in  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  not  an  old  log,  or  singular-looking  tree,  is 
omitted.  The  patience  of  the  narrator  seems  to  be 
inexhaustible ;  and  he  will  go  over  and  over  the  items, 
till  the  person  receiving  the  information  is  satisfied. 
The  very  children  take  a  world  of  pains  to  direct  a 


184  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

traveller.  I  never  had  any  difficulty  in  finding  my 
way  after  such  instructions,  except  in  one  instance, 
and  then  my  informant  was  a  Dutchman,  who  sent 
me  right  into  a  marsh,  from  which  I  had  some  diffi- 
culy  in  extricating  myself. 

The  track  across  the  prairie  seemed  as  interminable 
as  Paddy's  rope,  from  which,  he  swore,  some  one  had 
cut  off  the  other  end  altogether;  and  the  sun  went 
down,  and  the  shadows  of  evening  began  to  deepen, 
whilst  we  were  still  some  distance  from  the  woods.  As 
the  time  between  sunset  and  dark  in  these  latitudes  is 
short,  we  urged  on  our  weary  horses,  and  were  fortun- 
ate enough  to  pilot  our  way  to  the  house  we  had  been 
directed  to,  just  as  night  was  setting  in.  We  hallooed 
at  the  fence,  when  a  woman  came  to  the  door,  who,  on 
our  asking  if  we  might  be  allowed  to  stay  all  night, 
replied  "yes,"  and  returned  into  the  house. 

We  commenced  a  search  for  the  well,  which  we  soon 
found ;  but  the  water  was  so  bad,  that  our  horses,  al- 
though they  had  travelled  many  hours  in  the  hot  sun, 
would  not  taste  it.  On  examining  the  water  by  day- 
light, it  looked  like  tea  slightly  coloured  with  cream, 
and  had  a  rank,  disagreeable  smell.  The  farmer's 
hogs  were  less  fastidious  than  our  horses,  and  waited 
with  great  impatience  till  we  left,  when  a  dreadful 
conflict  ensued  about  the  rude  trough,  hewed  with  an 
axe  out  of  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  into  which  we  had 
poured  some  of  the  water.  Some  one  cried  to  us  to 
"cover  the  well  with  the  boards  again  that  the  hogs 
mightn't  jump  in"  —  it  appeared  to  be  about  thirty 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  185 

feet  deep.  In  order  to  preserve  the  water  in  a  state 
of  purity,  it  is  necessary  to  have  the  mouth  of  the  well 
shut  in  with  boards,  either  laid  flat  over  it,  with  a 
hatch  in  them,  or  to  surround  it  to  a  height  sufficient 
to  prevent  animals  and  reptiles  from  getting  in. 
Rabbits  and  snakes  are  the  most  common  intruders. 

Having  unsaddled  our  horses  and  rummaged  about 
till  we  got  corn  and  fodder  for  them,  we  entered  the 
house,  which  was  comparatively  a  good  one,  built  of 
brick,  and  of  two  stories.  The  inmates  consisted  of 
the  woman,  who  had  so  laconically  given  us  permis- 
sion to  stay,  and  two  young  men  with  two  females, 
evidently  visitors;  there  were  also  two  children,  but 
whether  they  belonged  to  the  house,  to  the  visitors,  or 
to  some  absent  persons,  I  do  not  think  I  fairly  con- 
cluded upon,  as  they  seemed  to  act  independently  of 
all  parties. 

During  the  short  time  we  sat,  before  and  after  sup- 
per, there  were  scarcely  half  a  dozen  words  of  con- 
versation, an  occurrence  quite  characteristic  of  the 
people,  when  the  sexes  are  met.  The  silence  of  the 
woods  is  not  half  so  oppressive,  a  pin  can 't  fall  with- 
out being  heard,  and  the  jaws  of  those  who  yawn 
through  sheer  weariness,  are  heard  cracking  right  and 
left.  The  men  generally  are  not  very  talkative,  but  I 
believe  the  women  are  much  like  women  all  the  world 
over,  and  I  have  in  some  instances  overheard  them 
unfasten  the  sluices  of  their  eloquence,  and  fairly 
maintain  the  character  of  their  sex. 

Next  morning  we  had  some  conversation  with  the 


186  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

young  men  and  a  brother-in-law  of  theirs,  who  had 
come  from  his  farm,  which  was  at  no  great  distance. 
They  shewed  us  a  patent  plough,  which  the  young 
men's  father  had  invented,  and  it  was  by  far  the 
handsomest  and  most  efficient  looking  plough  that  I 
had  yet  seen  in  the  country. 

The  orchard  here  was  beautiful,  and  contained 
some  hundreds  of  trees,  all  engrafted,  and  of  choice 
kinds,  and  I  do  not  think  I  ever  saw  or  tasted  finer 
apples.  We  were  told  that  some  orchards  in  this  neigh- 
bourhood contained  one  thousand  bearing  trees,  whose 
fruit  afforded  some  hundreds  of  barrels  of  cider. 
Apple  trees  grow  with  great  rapidity,  and  get  to  a 
large  size  in  not  many  years.  Coal  has  been  found  in 
this  neighbourhood,  but  not  in  great  plenty.  The 
land  is  very  good,  but  far  from  markets  or  boatable 
waters. 

Advancing  east  the  prairies  continue  very  fine,  and 
of  great  extent ;  at  intervals  cut  by  meandering  groves 
into  insulated  portions  of  great  beauty,  and  fre- 
quently varied  by  scattered  clumps  of  trees,  like 
islands  in  a  lake. 

Passing  through  the  small  town  of  Greenville,  we 
arrived  at  Vandalia,  then  the  capital  of  the  state  of 
Illinois.4  This  town  is  situated  on  the  west  bank  of 
the  Kaskaskia,  or  Okau  (as  it  is  called  further  down), 
on  an  elevated  ridge  overhanging  the  river;  it  is  a 

4  By  an  act  of  the  state  legislature,  the  seat  of  government 
was  to  be  removed  from  this  place  to  Springfield,  in  Sangamon, 
in  1840. 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  187 

scattered  place,  with  some  good  buildings,  and  a  large 
open  place  in  the  centre  for  a  square. 

Bilious  fever  prevailed  here,  and  there  were  several 
patients  in  the  hotel  where  we  stayed. 

The  country  here,  adjoining  the  Kaskaskia,  is  heav- 
ily timbered,  and  there  is  a  very  extensive  morass  on 
the  river  bottom  opposite  the  town. 

We  here  struck  the  National  Road,  which  comes,  or 
rather  is  to  come,  in  a  tolerably  direct  line  from 
Wheeling,  on  the  Ohio,  by  Columbus,  Springfield 
(O.),  Indianapolis,  Terre  Haute,  and,  after  leaving 
Vandalia,  is  to  run  to  Alton  on  the  Mississippi.  — 
Most  part  of  this  road  is  nothing  more  than  a  track, 
though,  I  believe,  the  line  has  been  surveyed,  and  the 
timber  cut  down  and  removed,  the  stumps  being  left. 
Several  miles  of  the  road  to  the  east  of  Vandalia  has 
been  formed,  and  some  of  it  completed  across  the 
swamp,  which  must  otherwise  have  been  nearly  im- 
passable. The  huge  ditches,  from  which  the  earth 
had  been  taken  to  raise  the  road,  were  in  many  places 
full  of  water,  and  yet  the  season  had  been  singularly 
dry,  and  the  river  had  scarcely  ever  been  so  low. 
Vandalia  cannot  be  a  healthy  place  with  this  dismal 
swamp  on  one  side,  and  some  very  low  wet  prairies  on 
the  other. 

On  leaving  the  swamp  and  the  woods  we  passed  a 
number  of  labourers  forming  the  road  on  the  prairie ; 
this  was  done  by  merely  excavating  the  earth  from 
each  side,  and  throwing  it  into  the  middle,  without 
any  covering  of  stones,  and,  owing  to  the  dryness  of 


188  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

the  climate,  such  roads  will  stand  a  great  deal  of 
passage.  When  they  become  rutted  or  broken,  they 
are  levelled  with  the  plow. 

The  greenhead  flies  were  so  numerous  here,  that  we 
had  to  carry  branches  and  keep  up  a  constant  warfare 
with  them.  The  season  for  them  was  rather  past, 
which  was  fortunate,  as,  in  all  likelihood,  we  should 
have  been  obliged  to  have  travelled  over  the  prairies 
during  the  night,  a  plan  sometimes  resorted  to. 

At  Cumberland,  a  small,  wretched-looking  place, 
we  stopped  to  get  some  water  and  corn  for  our  horses. 
"We  happened  to  apply  at  the  house  of  a  person,  who 
figured  as  doctor,  but  whose  right  to  that  title  was 
anything  but  doubtful.5  The  water  in  the  doctor's 
well  was  execrable,  and  if  he  only  could  have  induced 
people  to  come  and  drink  of  it,  he  need  never  have 
wanted  patients.  Some  of  his  own  family  were  on 
the  sick  list.  The  doctor  was  called  away  a  few  min- 
utes after  we  entered  the  house,  when  his  wife,  who 
was  recovering  from  fever,  began  and  praised  him  to 
the  skies.  She  did  not  attempt  to  conceal  that  he  had 
no  diploma,  but  then  he  was  so  smart,  besides  she  was 
herself  the  daughter  of  one  who  had  practised  the 
healing  act,  and  she  somehow  made  it  appear  that 
this  circumstance  ought  to  have  considerable  weight 
in  forming  an  estimate  of  her  husband's  qualifica- 
tions. She  was  like  Sancho,  when  he  said  it  was  quite 
natural  for  him  to  be  a  good  judge  of  wine,  for  he  had 
two  relations  on  his  father's  side,  that  were  the  nicest 
tasters  in  La  Mancha. 

s  ?  clear. — Ed. 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  189 

There  was,  lying  on  a  table,  a  well-thumbed  copy 
of  an  early  edition  of  Graham's  Domestic  Medicine, 
printed  in  London. 

On  this  first  day  of  our  travel  on  the  National  Road, 
we  met  several  parties  of  movers,  i.  e.,  emigrants, 
travelling  west,  and  we  continued  to  meet  them  daily, 
and  often  in  large  numbers,  so  long  as  we  travelled 
on  this  line  of  road,  which  we  did  to  Columbus  in 
Ohio.  The  current  of  emigration  sets  steadily  to  the 
westward,  during  the  whole  summer  and  fall,  winter 
frequently  overtaking  some  of  the  parties  before  they 
arrive  at  their  intended  destination.  When  this  is 
the  case,  they  winter  in  the  best  way  they  can,  and  it 
sometimes  happens  that  they  take  a  liking  to  the  place 
and  move  no  further,  A  very  large  proportion  of 
those  we  met  were  going  to  Missouri,  but  to  what  spot 
in  the  state  few  of  them  could  precisely  say. 

This  wandering  life  possesses  such  charms  for 
many,  that  they  never  remain  very  many  years  in  one 
place;  but,  after  having  partially  improved  a  farm, 
and  put  up  some  fixings,  sell  off,  hitch  the  horses  to 
the  waggon,  and,  driving  their  stock  along  with  them, 
again  move  to  the  outskirts  of  civilization. 

This  taste  for  moving  and  living  in  the  wilderness 
seems  strange  to  the  denizen  of  an  old  country,  but 
habit,  which  binds  him  to  the  home  of  his  forefathers, 
is  no  less  powerful  in  modifying  the  feelings  of  the 
pioneer  of  the  woods,  and  it  would  be  as  uncongenial 
for  the  one  to  live  in  the  crowded  city  as  for  the  other 
to  live  miles  from  the  sight  of  any  smoke  but  that 
which  arose  from  his  own  hearth. 


190  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

When  travelling  through  a  thinly-peopled  part  of 
Illinois,  an  anecdote  was  related  to  us  by  one  of  these 
frontier  settlers,  which  is  very  characteristic.  A 
person,  an  acquaintance  of  our  informant,  and  who 
knew  the  settler  referred  to,  on  happening  to  pass  his 
log  hut  one  day,  called  on  him.  On  asking  him  how 
he  was  getting  along,  he  shook  his  head  and  replied, 
"Well,  I  can't  teU,  I  think  I'll  move."  "Move, 
why  ? "  "  Well,  the  country  is  getting  so  peopled  up  I 
can 't  live  in  it  no  how. ' ' — ' '  Why,  the  last  time  I  saw 
you,  you  told  me  your  next  neighbour  lived  seven  miles 
off. "  "  Yes,  but  there  is  one  within  three  miles  now, 
and  I  can't  stand  it  no  longer;  one  can't  go  out  into 
the  woods  but  he  hears  the  sound  of  the  axe  and  the 
crash  of  trees." 

Such  settlers  as  the  one  here  alluded  to  are  mostly 
squatters,  and  run  the  risk  of  being  turned  out  by  any 
person  purchasing  the  land;  but,  where  land  is  so 
plenty,  few  will  incur  the  odium  attached  to  ousting 
a  man  from  such  a  possession,  without  at  least  giving 
him  the  value  of  the  improvements,  i.  e.,  houses, 
fences,  and  broken-up  prairie,  which  he  may  have 
made  upon  it. 

Towards  evening  we  arrived  at  Ewington,  on  the 
Little  Wabash  river,  and  by  the  advice  of  a  person 
with  whom  we  fell  in  by  the  way,  we  passed  through 
it,  to  take  our  chance  of  getting  a  night's  lodging  at 
a  "squire's"  about  a  mile  beyond. 

Ewington  is  a  sorry-looking  place,  situated  on  a 
high  clay  bank  of  the  Little  Wabash,  which  is  here  an 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  191 

inconsiderable  stream,  deeply  cut  into  the  surface  of 
the  country,  and  jammed  full  of  driftwood.  It  would 
have  been  quite  impassable  at  this  place  for  horses, 
had  it  not  been  for  a  primitive  and  ricketty  wood 
bridge,  erected  across  the  chasm. 

Before  we  got  to  the  squire's  abode,  the  night  was  as 
dark  as  pitch,  and  as  the  road  was  full  of  ruts  and 
other  impediments,  our  progress  was  very  slow.  A 
horse  with  the  use  of  his  eyes  will  seldom  tumble  into  a 
hole,  however  dark  the  night  may  be;  but,  in  going 
among  trees,  he  estimates  the  practicability  of  a  pas- 
sage between  the  trunks,  or  below  limbs,  merely  in 
reference  to  his  own  bulk,  without  taking  into  ac- 
count the  legs  or  body  of  his  rider ;  so  that  the  knees 
sometimes  get  awkward  thumps,  and  there  is  some 
risk  of  being  swept  off  by  a  branch. 

The  squire  was  unwilling  to  admit  us,  saying  he 
had  two  guests  already,  which  were  as  many  as  he  had 
beds  for;  besides,  his  old  woman  was  sick,  and  could 
not  again  be  troubled  with  preparing  supper.  In 
reply  to  these  objections  we  told  him  that  we  would 
sit  by  the  fire,  or  lie  on  the  floor,  and  would  not 
trouble  the  old  woman  with  making  any  supper.  In 
the  end  he  relented  and  took  us  in;  and,  though  we 
did  lie  on  the  floor,  the  old  woman  was  kind  enough 
on  her  own  accord  to  relieve  us  of  the  additional  pen- 
alty of  being  supperless. 

The  squire  was  an  intelligent  man;  his  forte,  how- 
ever, seemed  to  be  the  mechanism  of  mills,  and  he  de- 
tailed to  us  several  projected  improvements  in  saw 


192  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

mills.  The  Americans  are  decidedly  a  mechanical 
people  —  a  people  of  shifts  and  expedients,  which 
may  be  the  offspring  of  that  fruitful  mother  of  inven- 
tion, necessity. 

Of  the  other  two  strangers,  one  was  the  driver  of 
the  stage  between  Vandalia  and  Terre  Haute ;  no  sine- 
cure on  such  detestable  roads.  There  had  been  an 
overturn  of  the  stage  that  very  day,  and  at  the  time  it 
took  place  the  driver  was  slowly  leading  the  horses  by 
the  heads,  whilst  another  person  was  doing  his  best,  by 
pulling  at  the  upper  side,  to  keep  the  vehicle  on  its 
wheels.    The  driver  spoke  of  the  affair  as  a  good  joke. 

We  left  the  squire's  at  sunrise  next  morning,  and 
through  the  day  travelled  over  some  extensive  prai- 
ries. The  population  was  very  thin,  and  the  grass  was 
growing  rank  and  tall  in  many  places,  without  a  single 
trail  in  it.  Snakes  were  abundant,  and,  judging  from 
the  trails  of  these  reptiles  on  the  dusty  track,  some  of 
them  must  have  been  large. 

The  groves  on  these  unpeopled  prairies  are  not 
fringed  by  a  growth  of  young  wood  and  bushes,  as  they 
are  where  the  country  is  more  thickly  settled,  and 
where  the  fire  has  been  kept  out  for  a  few  years ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  rise  up  abruptly  from  the  grassy 
margin,  hemming  it  in  as  with  a  wall.  Wild  turkey 
were  plentiful,  and  we  saw  some  flocks  running  off 
the  tracks  into  the  woods. 

The  river  Embarras,  as  it(s)  name  implies,  would 
be  a  troublesome  impediment  to  the  first  explorers  of 
the  country,  as  it  is  a  sluggish  stream,  apt  to  get 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  193 

deeply  flooded,  and  is  bounded  by  lofty  clay  banks; 
now,  however,  a  good  wooden  bridge,  and  an  elevated 
roadway  across  the  bottom,  secure  an  easy  passage. 

About  an  hour  before  sunset,  we  met  two  men  on 
horseback,  in  the  middle  of  the  prairie.  It  turned  out 
that,  like  us,  they  were  strangers  to  this  part  of  the 
country,  and  were  on  the  outlook  for  a  favourable 
situation  in  which  to  locate.  They  told  us  they  had 
been  up  the  Wabash,  but  did  not  like  the  country,  it 
was  so  sickly,  and  that  sickness  prevailed  wherever 
they  had  been.  We  gave  them  such  information  as  we 
could  about  the  country  we  had  come  through,  but 
could  give  them  very  little  encouragement  respecting 
its  present  healthiness.  Before  parting,  mutual  en- 
quiries were  made  respecting  the  chance  of  getting 
lodgings  for  the  night,  when  we  directed  them  to  an 
embryo  town  at  no  great  distance,  and  they  told  us  of 
a  house,  the  only  one  for  a  long  way  on  the  road.  At 
this  house,  situated  at  the  bottom  of  a  deep  valley 
among  the  woods,  we  arrived  a  short  time  before  dark, 
and  were  told  we  might  stay,  if  we  could  put  up  with 
such  accomodations  as  the  inmates  could  afford.  The 
two  travellers  we  met  on  the  road  had  given  us  no 
very  favourable  account  of  the  place,  and  it  did  look 
very  wretched;  but  there  was  no  alternative,  except 
sleeping  in  the  woods,  and  the  nights  had  become  too 
cool  to  make  that  agreeable.  The  family  consisted  of  a 
man  and  his  wife,  with  five  or  six  young  folks,  and 
every  one  in  the  house  was  either  lying  in  fever,  or 
just  recovering  from  it.     We  were  in  "pretty  con- 


194  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

siderable  of  a  bad  fix,"  but  had  roughed  it  too  long 
now  to  be  dismayed,  and  so  set  to  work  to  kindle  a  fire 
in  an  unoccupied  and  totally  unfurnished  end  of  the 
log  house,  where  we  speculated  on  remaining  through 
the  night.  We  had  just  fanned  the  logs  into  a  cheer- 
ful blaze,  when  there  arrived  an  inundation  of  mov- 
ers, which  crowded  the  house  full  of  men,  women,  and 
children.  This  might  be  called  the  coup  de  grace  to 
our  hope  of  getting  any  rest.  Our  supper  consisted 
of  rancid  bacon,  coffee  burned  as  black  as  charcoal,  and 
Indian  bread  compounded  with  the  dripping  of  the 
bacon.  That  fever  patients  ever  recovered  under  such 
a  regimen,  ' '  how  it  can,  let  doctors  tell. ' ' 

The  names  of  the  young  people  in  this  family  had 
certainly  been  culled  from  some  of  the  old  romances, 
and  I  could  scarcely  retain  my  gravity  when  the  ' '  old 
woman"  addressed  a  tall,  sickly,  squalid-looking  boy, 
by  the  name  of  Altamont.  I  have  forgotten  the  names 
of  some  of  the  others,  but  they  were  of  the  same  class. 

As  we  had  come  first,  we  had  the  precedence,  and 
were  honoured  with  the  only  spare  bed  in  the  house, 
whilst  the  floor  was  completely  occupied  by  the  mov- 
ers. I  lay  down  with  my  clothes  on,  but  what  with 
the  moaning  of  a  poor  girl  who  was  lying  in  fever, 
and  the  screaming  of  restless  child,  to  sleep  was  out 
of  the  question,  and  in  a  short  time  I  arose  with  the 
intention  of  going  out  a  little.  The  folks  on  their 
floor  had  made  their  arrangements  in  the  dark,  so  I 
did  not  know  how  they  were  situated,  and  my  first 
step  was  made  at  a  venture.     I  scarcely  could  have 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  195 

been  less  fortunate,  as  I  stepped  plump  on  the  child 
which  had  already  created  so  much  disturbance,  but 
which  had  become  quiet  for  a  few  minutes,  and  in 
making  an  exertion  to  save  it,  got  into  fresh  difficulties 
of  a  somewhat  delicate  nature,  and  finally  was  glad 
to  escape  on  all  fours. 

We  started  next  morning,  the  9th.  September,  at 
break  of  day.  There  had  been  a  sharp  frost  through 
the  night,  and  as  the  season  had  hitherto  been  very 
warm,  we  were  glad  to  add  to  our  thin  clothing  by 
putting  on  our  cloaks. 

On  passing  a  house  newly  built,  we  had  to  avoid  a 
deep  hole  dug  right  in  the  middle  of  the  road  (the 
State  Road,  be  it  remembered),  from  which  the  clay 
for  daubing  the  chimney  had  evidently  been  taken. 
To  be  sure  the  road  was  a  mere  track,  but  there  was  a 
good  deal  of  passage  on  it,  and  it  was  the  route  of  the 
stage  carrying  the  mail.  The  State  Roads,  being  un- 
der the  controul  of  the  state  legislatures,  are  generally 
exempt  from  such  annoyances  as  this ;  but  with  other 
roads  of  the  country,  every  one  interferes  when  it 
suits  his  convenience,  and  there  is  nothing  uncommon 
in  coming  up  to  a  fence  which  has  been  thrown  across 
the  road,  thereby  causing  the  traveller  to  make  a 
detour  in  order  to  regain  the  track.  In  some  places, 
where  the  country  is  getting  peopled  up,  the  roads  are 
flung  about  from  one  farm  to  another,  in  a  manner 
perfectly  vexatious  and  perplexing.  This  evil,  which 
might  very  easily  be  remedied  now,  will  soon  become 
a  source  of  trouble  and  expence.     Such  a  go-ahead 


196  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

people  as  the  Americans  will  not  long  endure  to  be 
kept  tacking  through  the  country  like  Commodore 
Trunion. 

During  the  day,  we  stopped  at  a  house  on  the  road- 
side to  get  some  refreshment,  and  whilst  it  was  being 
prepared,  a  man  entered  the  house  to  make  enquiry  if 
our  host  was  going  to  attend  a  trial  before  the  judge, 
to  which  it  appeared  both  had  been  cited,  whether  as 
witnesses  or  principals  I  did  not  learn.  After  a  good 
deal  of  swearing,  they  came  to  the  conclusion  that  they 
would  not  go;  they  did  not  care  for  either  judge  or 
laws.  Whilst  they  were  discussing  this  point,  the 
stranger  drew  from  his  pocket  a  bottle  of  whisky, 
which  he  handed,  first  to  the  lady  of  the  house,  who 
put  it  to  her  head  and  took  a  good  pull,  and  then  to 
her  husband.  As  before  stated,  the  people  on  the 
thoroughfares  do  not  constitute  a  fair  sample  of  the 
mass. 

In  the  afternoon  we  arrived  at  Marshall,  a  new 
town,  situated  on  a  small  rising  prairie,  at  the  inter- 
section of  the  National  Road  with  that  leading  from 
Chicago,  on  Lake  Michigan,  by  Danville,  and  Paris,  to 
Vincennes,  on  the  Wabash,  and  thence  to  Louisville, 
on  the  Ohio.  Although  the  place  was  quite  new,  a 
greater  number  of  lots  had  been  sold,  and  already  par- 
tially built  upon,  and  there  was  one  continued  bustle 
of  hewing,  hammering,  and  sawing,  going  on. 

The  place  is  beautifully  situated,  and  from  the  im- 
petus already  given  to  it,  is  likely  to  become  of  some 
importance.  The  Wabash,  the  nearest  boatable  water, 
is  six  or  eight  miles  off. 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  197 

At  several  places  in  this  neighbourhood,  large  gangs 
of  labourers  were  working  at  the  National  Road,  cut- 
ting and  embanking  at  some  deep  ravines,  and  some 
stone  piers  for  bridges  were  being  erected,  the  ma- 
terials for  which  were  cut  in  large  morasses  from  a 
compact  limestone,  approaching  in  appearance  to 
marble.  Among  the  labourers,  there  was  no  mistaking 
some  of  the  pesantry,  and  Pat's  joke  and  loud  laugh 
startled  the  echoes  of  the  western  woods. 

The  face  of  the  country  here  began  to  assume  a  dif- 
ferent appearance,  and  at  Marshall  we  left  the  last 
prairie,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  one  at  Terre 
Haute  on  the  Wabash  bottom,  and  which,  probably,  is 
of  comparatively  recent  formation.  The  woods  par- 
took of  the  change  too,  and  the  oak  was  frequently 
supplanted  by  the  beech,  and  we  here  first  fell  in  with 
the  tulip  tree,  or  poplar  as  it  is  sometimes  called. 

Leaving  Marshall  we  travelled  through  beech  woods 
till  we  came  to  the  Wabash  bottom,  which  we  reached 
at  dusk.  The  bottom  was  heavily  timbered,  and  a  dis- 
mal swampy  looking  place,  and  it  proved  quite  as  bad 
as  it  looked.  The  track  was  tortuous  and  narrow,  in- 
terrupted with  stumps  and  huge  gnarled  roots,  with, 
now  and  then,  an  apology  for  a  bridge,  consisting  of 
two  trees  laid  for  bearers,  crossed  at  right  angles  by 
split  rails  laid  on  en  corduroy,  and  unfastened,  except 
by  a  rail  laid  over  their  extremeties  and  pinned  down 
at  each  end,  and  which,  of  course,  prevented  the 
rails  when  firmly  packed,  from  getting  asunder,  but 
allowed  them  to  roll  and  clatter  in  such  a  way  as  to 
render  the  passage  very  insecure  and  unpleasant.    We 


198  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

had  no  time,  however,  to  pick  our  steps,  for  the  woods 
looked  more  sombre,  and  the  slimy  pools  more  inky 
every  moment,  and  before  we  were  half  way  across 
the  bottom  the  darkness  was  intense,  and  we  were 
brought  to  our  slowest  pace.  We  knew  that  we  must 
soon  strike  the  river,  and  were  under  some  apprehen- 
sion that  we  might  ride  into  it  over  head  and  ears  be- 
fore we  were  aware,  an  apprehension  not  entirely 
groundless,  as  our  horses,  like  most  of  those  in  the 
West,  would  have  entered  the  Father  of  waters  him- 
self without  the  slightest  token  of  uneasiness. 

The  lights  of  Terre  Haute,  at  no  great  distance,  in- 
dicated our  near  approach  to  the  river,  of  whose  placid 
surface  we  caught  the  glimmer  when  within  a  few 
yards  of  the  perpendicular  clay  bank,  within  which 
its  waters,  when  low,  are  here  confined.  Uncertain 
where  the  ferry  might  be,  I  left  my  horse  in  charge  of 
my  friend,  and  groped  about  until  I  came  against  a 
rail  fence,  and  thought  I  could  distinguish  a  house  be- 
tween me  and  the  sky,  and  abruptly  came  in  view  of 
a  stream  of  light  issuing  from  an  open  door.  On 
enquiring  of  two  men,  whom  I  found  within,  where 
the  ferry  was,  neither  of  them  made  any  answer,  but, 
on  my  repeating  my  request  for  information,  one  of 
them  started  to  his  feet  in  rage,  and  uttering  a  volley 
of  oaths,  swore  he  would  ferry  no  more  that  night, 
that  it  was  quite  enough  to  work  through  the  day, 
without  being  called  upon  every  hour  in  the  night,  as 
they  had  been  of  late,  by  the  doctors,  and  by  people 
seeking  them  for  the  sick.  I  sympathized  with  him, 
saying  it  was  very  hard  indeed.     "Why  didn't  you 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  199 

stay  on  the  other  side  of  the  bottom  ? ' '  said  he.  ' '  You 
wont  give  over  coming  through  that  ere  dark  bottom 
till  you  get  murdered.  It  was  only  the  other  night 
that  one  got  himself  skivered  between  here  and  Paris. 
I  wouldn't  pass  through  that  bottom  after  sundown 
for  fifty  dollars. ' '  I  told  him  that  we  were  strangers, 
unacquainted  with  the  country,  and  finally  prevailed 
upon  them  to  take  us  across.  We  found  a  very  good 
inn,  and,  although  the  hour  was  past,  experienced  no 
difficulty  in  procuring  supper. 

Terre  Haute  {Terry  Hut  as  the  name  is  universally 
pronounced),  in  the  state  of  Indiana,  is  situated  on  a 
gently  rising  eminence  on  the  east  side  of  the  Wabash, 
and  is  a  pretty  place,  with  a  number  of  good  houses, 
and  some  respectable  stores  and  inns.  One  of  the 
stores,  an  extensive  hardware  concern,  was  the  pro- 
perty of  Messrs.  Mc  Gregor  and  Rae,  two  Scotchmen, 
on  whom  we  took  the  liberty  of  calling.  Mr.  Mc  Gre- 
gor received  us  very  kindly,  but  we  did  not  see  Mr. 
Rae,  who  was  confined  to  his  room  by  sickness.  Some 
of  the  inmates  of  the  hotel  where  we  stopped,  were 
lying  dangerously  ill  in  fever. 

The  Wabash  is  not,  I  believe,  at  all  times  navigable 
for  steamers  above  the  rapids  near  White  river,  a 
short  way  below  Vincennes,  and  somewhat  over  one 
hundred  miles  below  Terre  Haute,  but,  when  the  water 
is  high,  steamers  ascend  to  Lafayette,  Indiana,  a  dis- 
tance of  124  miles  above  Terre  Haute,  and  of  346 
from  the  Ohio.  No  doubt  a  canal  will  ere  long  be  cut 
to  remedy  the  obstruction  at  the  rapids. 

We  left  Terre  Haute  after  Breakfast,  and  crossed 


200  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

a  fine  cultivated  bottom  of  considerable  extent,  lying 
between  the  town  and  the  ancient  bluff  of  the  river. 
Numbers  of  workmen  were  busy  on  the  National  Koad, 
raising  it  above  the  surface  level  of  the  bottom,  and 
covering  it  with  a  thick  layer  of  well-broken  limestone. 
The  bottom  which,  here  and  at  some  other  places  on 
the  river,  partakes  of  the  character  of  prairie,  seemed 
to  be  subject  to  inundation. 

The  bluff,  and  the  country  for  some  way  towards 
the  east,  consists  of  a  pale  red,  friable  sandstone, 
which  becomes  rounded  when  exposed  to  the  action  of 
the  atmosphere,  and  is  very  like  our  new  red  sand- 
stone. 

The  stream  of  movers  was  still  flowing  west  with 
unabated  numbers,  and,  this  day,  we  met,  amongst 
others,  with  a  troop  consisting  of  a  number  of  fami- 
lies of  Mormonites,  with  all  their  household  goods, 
horses,  cattle,  sheep,  etc.,  bound  to  some  place  in 
Missouri,  where  there  is  a  settlement  consisting  en- 
tirely of  that  sect  of  religionists. 

The  country  here  is  heavily  timbered,  and,  among 
other  fine  trees,  we  saw  some  enormous  poplars  (tulip 
tree).  The  poplar,  when  old,  is  one  of  the  most  un- 
gainly of  forest  trees.  It  rises  to  a  great  height  with- 
out a  limb,  carrying  its  thickness,  slightly  diminished, 
nearly  to  the  top,  where  it  abruptly  terminates  with 
a  scant  and  ungraceful  foliage.  We  never  saw  one 
with  a  straight  stem,  but,  on  the  contrary,  all  are 
more  or  less  awkwardly  twisted. 

When  practicable,   the  National  Road  runs  in   a 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  201 

straight  line,  which  circumstance,  when  the  country 
is  level,  renders  travelling  exceedingly  monotonous. 
Hemmed  in  by  a  wall  of  forest  the  traveller  can  some- 
times see  a  distance  of  many  miles  before  him  the 
cleared  roadway  diminished  to  a  thread-like  tenuity. 
Inns  and  villages,  however,  occur  at  no  great  distance 
from  one  another,  so  that  the  traveller  on  horseback 
or  on  foot  has  it  in  his  power  to  halt  and  get  rest  and 
food  when  he  requires  them ;  and  the  accomodation  is 
better  than  it  is  farther  west.  The  houses  standing 
back  from  the  line  of  road,  of  course,  cannot  be  seen 
until  one  is  close  upon  them,  but  the  owners  of  the 
inns  take  care  to  intimate  their  whereabouts,  by  erect- 
ing within  view,  huge  signs,  which  can  be  discerned 
a  long  way.  Washington,  mostly  in  some  question- 
able shape,  like  the  transmuted  head  of  Sir  Roger  de 
Coverly,  figures  largely  on  those  chefs  d'oeuvres.  The 
patriot  commonly  stands,  his  eyes  fixt  on  vacancy, 
with  a  cocked  hat  in  one  hand,  whilst  the  other  has 
possession  of  a  tumbler,  into  which  some  liquor,  after 
performing  the  singular  feat  of  leaping  out  of  the 
jug  into  the  air,  is  falling  in  a  manner  quite  in  keep- 
ing with  the  rest  of  the  performance.  The  jug  is  held 
by  a  lady  dressed  in  black  shoes,  white  stockings,  and 
printed  cotton  gown,  with  a  broad  ribbon  round  the 
waist,  her  face  as  white  as  chalk,  and  her  eyes  as  black 
as  coal,  and  with  an  expression  indicating  her  total 
unconsciousness  of  what  she  is  about,  or  in  whose 
presence  she  stands;  a  dereliction  which  it  is  possible 
may  have  excited  the  ale  to  such  an  unwonted  act  of 


202  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

courtesy.  The  sign  board,  however  large  it  may  be, 
never  in  any  instance  contained  in  one  line  the  name 
of  the  owner,  one  or  two  letters  at  the  end  of  the  name 
being  put  over  the  others  in  a  reduced  size,  and  this 
was  evidently  the  fashion.  "We  saw  the  origin  of  this 
fashion  in  the  West,  where  the  keeper  of  a  grocery  or 
a  hotel  does  his  own  sign  painting  with  his  finger  or  a 
bit  of  stick  dipt  among  pounded  charcoal  and  water, 
when,  like  a  schoolboy  commencing  the  art  of  cali- 
graphy,  the  operator  mostly  attains  the  end  of  the  line 
before  the  word  is  completed. 

In  the  evening  we  arrived  at  Manhattan,  a  small  and 
recent  place,  and,  of  two  inns,  had  the  good  fortune 
to  choose  that  kept  by  a  Mr.  Harris,  originally  from 
the  state  of  New  York.  Mr.  Harris  was  a  squire  (sim- 
ilar to  our  justice  of  the  peace),  a  distinction  the  re- 
sult no  doubt  of  his  intelligence. 

When  going  to  start  next  morning,  we  found  both 
our  horses  so  lame  as  to  render  it  quite  impracticable 
to  proceed  with  them:  they  were  leg-weary  and 
cramped  with  travel.  Such  an  accident  could  not 
have  befallen  us  in  better  quarters,  and,  otherwise,  it 
was  quite  as  well  that  we  did  not  proceed,  as  the  sky 
began  to  lower,  and  it  commenced  raining  heavily 
early  in  the  forenoon ;  the  first  rain  that  had  fallen  at 
Manhattan  for  fifteen  weeks. 

During  the  day,  some  more  travellers  were  brought 
up  by  the  state  of  the  weather,  and  before  night  we 
had  a  considerable,  and  somewhat  miscellaneous,  party 
around  a  roaring  wood  fire.     The  most  interesting 


EIGHT  .MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  203 

among  the  strangers  was  an  old  gentleman  of  the 
name  of  Bryant,  who  had  been  intimately  acquainted 
with  the  celebrated  Daniel  Boone,  who  had  lived  some- 
time in  his  father's  family  and  had  married  one  of  his 
cousins.  When  Boone  penetrated  into  the  interior  of 
Kentucky,  Bryant  formed  one  of  thirty  who  accom- 
panied him  to  make  a  settlement.  Bryant,  when  he 
saw  him,  was  still  a  cheerful,  healthy  old  man,  telling 
with  great  zest  many  good  hunting  stories  and  feats 
of  Indian  warfare,  and  spoke  of  hunting  Injuns  as  if 
they  had  been  bears  or  panthers.  When  narrating  an 
Indian  skirmish,  he  would  get  up,  and,  stalking 
stealthily  about  from  place  to  place,  with  a  stick  for 
a  rifle,  which  was  always  on  the  "made  ready,"  with 
the  thumb  of  the  right  hand  working  away  about  the 
place  where  the  dog-head  should  have  been,  would  bite 
his  lip  and  fix  his  eye  in  the  direction  of  his  imagin- 
ary foe,  sometimes  suddenly  jerking  up  the  stick  and 
letting  it  fall  again  as  if  defeated  in  his  intention  of 
firing,  and  then  he  would  stretch  himself  up  behind  a 
tree  (there  was  a  wooden  pillar  quite  convenient), 
looking  eagerly  on  all  sides.  He  was  kind  enough  to 
favour  us  with  a  great  deal  of  advice  with  regard  to 
Indian  hunting,  which  I  am  afraid  was  sadly  thrown 
away  upon  us. 

Squire  Harris  had  one  of  the  huge  signs  already 
mentioned,  with  a  somewhat  confused  representation 
upon  it  of,  what  we  conceived  to  be,  the  American 
eagle  in  the  act  of  throttling  the  English  lion.  It  is 
possible,  however,  that  we  might  be  wrong  in  our  solu- 


204  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

tion  of  the  hieroglyphic,  and  Mr.  Harris  seemed  un- 
accountably unwilling  to  enlighten  us  on  the  subject, 
and  to  the  question  of  a  neighbour,  who  in  our  pres- 
ence asked  when  ' '  he  was  going  to  pull  down  that  ere 
sign,"  the  squire  replied  by  authoritatively  bidding 
him  hold  his  tongue. 

There  is  some  coal  and  excellent  limestone  in  this 
neighbourhood,  the  latter  being  cut  in  large  blocks 
and  dressed  for  the  works  on  the  National  Road. 

After  staying  two  days  at  Manhattan,  we  resumed 
our  journey.  The  country  in  this  neighbourhood  is 
cut  into  inequalities  by  numerous  creeks  and  branches, 
which  render  it  more  interesting  than  the  flatter  dis- 
tricts ;  the  timber  is  splendid,  and  the  foliage  was  be- 
ginning to  assume  some  of  the  autumnal  tints,  in  con- 
sequence of  two  or  three  nights  of  sharp  frost. 

A  few  miles  to  the  east  of  Manhattan,  we  first  fell 
in  with  those  bowlders  which  are  found  scattered  over 
such  a  large  extent  of  the  North  American  continent. 
As  the  change  is  somewhat  sudden  and  pretty  well 
defined,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  current, 
which  undoubtedly  has  deposited  these  remains,  either 
found  a  shore  here,  or  some  obstruction  which  arose 
above  the  general  level  of  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  and 
which  prevented  the  boulders  from  being  carried 
farther  in  a  westerly  direction.  The  prairies  com- 
mence a  short  way  to  the  west  of  this,  and  the  deposit 
which  forms  their  basis,  so  far  as  I  ever  saw,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  solitary  stones,  contains  nothing 
larger  than  small  pebbles.    The  red  sandstone,  before 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  205 

mentioned,  intervenes  between  this  and  the  valley  of 
the  Wabash,  which  at  Terre  Haute,  bounds  the  prairie 
on  the  east,  and  this  sandstone  appeared  more  elevated 
than  either  the  prairie  or  that  part  of  the  country 
where  the  boulders  commenced;  I  may  mention  that 
the  boulders  were  not  so  large,  nor  apparently  so  un- 
equal in  size,  here  as  they  were  farther  east.  They 
consisted  principally  of  granite. 

At  Manhattan  we  had  met  with  a  traveller  who  was 
going  east,  and  whom  we  again  passed  on  the  road. 
As  the  weather  had  become  showery  some  covering  to 
exclude  the  rain  had  become  a  desideratum,  and  our 
traveller  had  assumed  one  which  had  at  least  the 
merit  of  novelty  —  a  half  hide  of  leather.  He  said 
that  he  had  not  been  able  to  procure  an  umbrella, 
that  he  had  a  use  for  the  leather  when  he  should  get 
to  the  end  of  his  journey,  and  that,  in  the  meantime, 
it  answered  the  purpose  just  as  well  as  anything 
else.  A  Yankee  is  commonly  fertile  in  expedients ;  his 
resources,  in  emergency,  have  not  been  narrowed  by 
the  system  of  division  of  labour  which  chains  a  man's 
mind  to  a  single  department  of  one  art. 

Indianapolis,  the  capital  of  the  state  of  Indiana,  is 
situated  on  the  White  River.  The  Capitol,  or  State 
House,  on  the  model  of  the  Parthenon,  is  finely  situ- 
ated in  a  large  open  space,  and  has  a  very  imposing 
appearance.  True,  it  is  built  only  of  brick  and  stucco, 
which  is  painted  in  imitation  of  stone,  still  it  is  large 
and  well  proportioned,  and  forms  a  pleasing  object. 

A  canal  was  being  cut  from  this  to  the  Ohio.    The 


206  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

country  is  getting  quickly  peopled  up,  and  the  land  is 
of  good  quality.  The  city  has  some  very  good  hotels, 
stores,  etc.,  with  a  population  of  about  2000.  Fever 
was  very  prevalent,  and  there  had  been  many  deaths. 

We  here  found  it  necessary  to  dispose  of  our  horses, 
as  we  were  desirous  of  proceeding  faster  than  we  had 
hitherto  done.  On  making  enquiry,  we  found  that 
the  most  common  method  of  sale  was  by  auction,  and 
having  engaged  an  auctioneer,  we  put  our  horses  into 
his  hands.  He  mounted  one  of  them  and  commenced 
perambulating  the  place,  calling  out  that  the  horse 
was  for  sale,  and,  on  getting  an  offer,  intimated  the 
sum  in  the  ordinary  way.  In  this  way  he  proceeded 
till  no  more  offers  were  to  had,  when  he  came  and  re- 
ported to  us.  In  this  manner  we  disposed  of  them 
both,  including  saddles  and  bridles. 

Early  next  morning  we  started  by  stage  for  Centre- 
ville.  It  was  a  hard  frost,  with  a  dreadfully  keen 
wind,  scarcely  endurable  by  us  who  had  so  recently 
been  broiling  in  a  temperature,  which,  for  many 
weeks,  ranged  from  90°  to  100°  in  the  shade.  The 
land  generally  seemed  good,  and  was  heavily  timbered. 
The  population  was  very  considerable. 

The  National  Road  was  still,  in  many  places,  no 
more  than  a  track  winding  its  way  among  boulders 
and  the  stumps  of  the  trees  which  had  been  cut  on 
surveying  the  line,  but  the  horses  are  good  and  the 
drivers  are  fearless,  and  dash  on  through  thick  and 
thin,  very  much  at  the  expense  of  the  poor  passen- 
gers' bones.     During  the  day,  we  came  to  a  small 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  207 

stream  with  a  marshy  bottom  or  flat  at  one  side, 
across  which  were  a  most  insufficient  bridge  and  cord- 
uroy road.  Our  approach  to  this  fixing  being  a  very 
steep  bank  down  which  we  rattled  at  a  slapping  pace, 
we  had  almost  run  foul  of  a  poor  fellow's  waggon, 
which  had  got  stuck  fast  with  one  wheel  in  the  marsh. 
In  trying  to  avoid  Scylla,  in  the  shape  of  a  hole  in  the 
corduroy,  he  had  got  into  Charybdis.  After  having 
laid  a  few  rotton  sticks  on  the  hole,  the  driver 
mounted  the  box,  and  starting  at  a  rapid  pace, 
cleared  all  difficulties,  the  passengers  crossing  on  foot. 

At  dusk  we  arrived  at  Centreville,  on  White  Water 
River,  which  here  runs  against  a  high  bluff,  along 
whose  face,  of  perpendicular  rock,  a  road  was  being 
cut  as  an  approach  to  a  wooden  bridge  which  had 
been  thrown  across  the  river.  Although  the  track  was 
still  very  narrow,  and  dangerous,  from  the  risk  of 
being  precipitated  into  the  river,  still  the  folks  of  this 
go-ahead  country  could  not  wait  till  it  was  finished, 
but  must  needs  force  their  way  amongst  fragments  of 
rock,  which  the  numerous  workmen  were  blasting  and 
splitting,  and  a  score  of  carts,  which  were  leading 
away  the  earth  and  stones. 

Centreville  is  situated  in  a  fine  country  tolerably 
well  cleared  and  thickly  peopled.  The  farm  houses 
are  comfortable,  in  many  instances  with  fine  orchards 
attached  to  them,  and  not  the  slightest  symptom  of 
poverty  or  want  is  to  be  seen.  Some  of  the  small 
rivers  in  the  district  are  beautiful,  clear  streams,  run- 
ning over  gravelly  beds.    We  left  Centreville  before 


208  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

daylight,  and,  at  Richmond,  struck  off  to  the  right  of 
the  line  of  the  National  Road,  which  was  here  rend- 
ered impassable  by  some  improvements  in  the  course 
of  being  made  upon  it.  A  short  way  from  Richmond 
we  passed  into  the  state  of  Ohio.  The  country  con- 
tinued fine  and  was  more  diversified  with,  not  exactly, 
hill  and  dale,  but  with  greater  inequalities  of  surface 
than  many  parts  we  had  lately  seen,  and  was  more  or 
less  covered  with  gravel,  and  boulders  of  limestone  and 
granite,  some  of  these  containing,  perhaps,  40  to  50 
cubic  feet. 

About  mid-day  we  arrived  at  Dayton,  the  prettiest 
and  most  flourishing  place  we  had  yet  seen  in  our 
journey  east,  The  town  is  finely  situated  on  an  ex- 
tensive bottom  on  the  River  Miami,  and  is  surrounded 
by  a  very  fine  country,  The  streets  are  wide,  with 
handsome  brick  buildings,  large  and  well  finished 
stores,  and  capacious  hotels;  many  of  the  luxuries  of 
the  most  civilized  countries  have  an  abiding  place  in 
Dayton.  There  are  several  mills  and  factories,  and 
a  large  building,  intended  for  a  cotton  factory,  was 
nearly  finished  when  we  passed.  The  town  is  con- 
nected with  the  Ohio,  at  Cincinnati,  by  the  Miami 
Canal,  which  is  about  66  miles  in  length ;  land  in  the 
neighbourhood  from  20  to  50  dollars  an  acre. 

We  spent  a  few  hours  waiting  for  the  stage  to 
Springfield.  The  hotel  in  which  we  were  was  very 
large  and  crowded,  indeed  few  objects  in  the  country 
are  more  surprising  to  the  stranger,  than  these  estab- 
lishments, which,  at  first  sight,  often  appear  so  dispro- 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  209 

portioned  to  the  other  accessories.  When  the  stage 
arrived,  it  was  found  that  the  passengers  for  Spring- 
field were  too  numerous  for  one  conveyance,  there 
was  no  difficulty,  however,  as  another  stage  was  speed- 
ily provided,  and  off  the  two  started  on  the  National 
Road,  which,  though  macadamized  in  some  parts,  was 
very  bad  in  others.  Numbers  of  labourers  were  at 
work  at  different  points  on  the  road  to  Springfield,  at 
which  place  we  arrived  sometime  after  dark.  In  a 
few  hours  we  continued  our  route  for  Columbus,  and 
the  day  broke  forth  whilst  we  were  on  the  road,  which 
was  now  excellent.  The  land  here  appeared  not  so 
good  as  that  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Dayton.  There 
were  some  merino  sheep  and  short  horned  cattle,  and 
several  herds  of  mules ;  some  of  them  consisting  of  50 
or  100  of  these  animals.  The  tide  of  movers  was  still 
flowing  west. 

Columbus,  the  capital  of  the  state  of  Ohio,  is  situ- 
ated on  the  Scioto  River,  and  a  few  miles  from  the 
Ohio  canal.  This  canal  traverses  the  entire  extent  of 
the  state,  from  Cleveland  on  Lake  Erie  in  the  north, 
to  Portsmouth  on  the  Ohio  in  the  south,  and  is  310 
miles  in  length.  There  is  a  branch  canal  from  the 
main  trunk  to  Columbus,  which  place  is  distant  from 
Cleveland,  by  canal,  about  200  miles,  and  139  by  stage. 
There  is  a  fine  penitentiary,  with  several  churches  and 
good  hotels.  The  bottoms  on  the  Scioto  are  extensive 
and  very  fertile,  but  very  little  of  the  cleared  land  in 
the  neighbourhood  is  yet  free  from  stumps. 

"We  took  stage  from  Columbus  to  Sandusky  City  on 


210  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

Lake  Erie.  One  of  the  passengers,  a  person  from  New 
Orleans,  was  one  of  the  most  ruffianly  swearers  I  ever 
heard,  and  I  very  much  doubt  if  poor  uncle  Toby's 
army  in  Flanders  swore  half  so  terribly.  Another  was 
a  vender  of  base  coin.  The  third,  most  fortunately, 
was  a  very  intelligent  and  agreeable  gentlemen. 

Without  the  occurrence  of  anything  extraordinary, 
with  the  exception  of  the  swearing  of  the  gentleman 
from  New  Orleans,  we  proceeded  till  the  day  was 
pretty  far  advanced,  when  some  made  enquiry  about 
the  place  at  which  we  were  to  dine,  and  which  was 
found  still  to  be  many  miles  distant,  and  that  owing 
to  the  stage  having  had  to  wait  at  Columbus,  some 
hours  over  time,  for  the  mails,  we  should  not  arrive 
till  the  evening.  This  state  of  affairs  was  by  no  means 
satisfactory,  and  the  passengers  unanimously  deter- 
mined to  insist  upon  the  stage  stopping  at  the  first 
place  at  which  dinner  could  be  procured ;  and  we  did 
stop,  the  driver  making  no  objection. 

There  is  some  prairie  between  Marion  and  Bucyrus, 
some  of  which  appeared  to  be  good.  We  noticed  a  few 
flocks  of  sheep  grazing  on  it.  Here  I  for  the  first  time 
saw  the  black  squirrel ;  there  was  no  such  thing  in  any 
part  of  the  west  that  I  had  visited. 

At  Bucyrus,  and  some  other  places  in  this  district, 
there  are  mineral  springs;  those  at  Bucyrus  being,  I 
believe,  what  are  commonly  called  sulphur  springs. 

For  a  considerable  distance  to  the  north  of  Bucyrus, 
the  country  is  very  level,  newly  settled,  and  covered 
with  a  forest  of  heavy  timber.  The  road,  often  very 
bad,  was  rendered  tedious  by  its  straightness  and  uni- 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  211 

formity.  Prairie,  very  flat,  with  granite  and  lime- 
stone boulders  in  great  quantity,  occurs  again  before 
arriving  at  the  ridge,  or  ancient  shore  of  Lake  Erie. 
The  ridge,  at  this  point,  is  not,  like  the  more  famous 
one  between  Lockport  and  Rochester,  composed  of 
gravel,  but  is  a  precipitous  bank,  consisting  of  a  coarse 
limestone  and,  after  directing  the  eye  along  its  sinu- 
osities, and  over  the  marshy  flat  which  extends  from 
its  base,  one  cannot  doubt  that  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie 
at  some  period  reached  it.  The  distance  from  this 
point  to  the  lake  at  Sandusky,  is  12  or  14  miles.  The 
plain  is  in  some  places  completely  covered  with 
boulders,  embedded  in  a  black,  mud-like  loam;  and, 
about  half-way  across,  there  occurs  a  stripe  of  deep 
loose  sand,  where  the  plain  makes  another  descent, 
and  where,  it  is  possible,  there  may  have  been  another 
shore.  The  difference  between  the  present  level  of  the 
lake,  and  that  of  the  first  ridge,  must  be  very  consid- 
erable. 

We  arrived  at  Sandusky  about  sunset  on  the  second 
evening  after  leaving  Columbus.  It  was  quite  refresh- 
ing to  hear  the  beating  of  the  surf,  and  to  inhale  the 
breeze  which  fanned  the  bosom  of  this  inland  sea. 
There  was  something  like  the  gladness  of  recognition, 
in  the  dancing  of  the  waves ;  which  seemed  to  welcome 
us  like  old  friends. 

Sandusky  is  a  small  place,  and  is  one  of  the  ports 
of  call  for  the  steamers  on  their  way  up  and  down 
the  lake.  It  is  distant  from  Buffalo  247  miles,  and  70 
miles  from  Detroit. 

"We  were  aroused  from  our  beds  in  the  night  and 


212  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

hurried  aboard  a  steamer  crowded  with  passengers. 
In  the  cabin  there  was  not  room  even  to  sit,  much  less 
to  lie  down,  so  that  we,  along  with  a  number  of  others, 
had  to  wander  about  like  so  many  ghosts.  In  the  fore 
part  of  the  cabin  there  was  a  large  dais  covered  with 
green  cloth,  which  was  occupied  by  as  many  as  it 
could  hold  wedged  close  together;  and  all  the  chairs, 
tables,  and  benches  were  clad.  The  night  air  off  the 
lake  was  very  cold ;  but  more  endurable  than  the  stew 
in  the  cabin.  Before  daylight  we  put  into  Huron,  a 
small  place  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  of  that  name ; 
and  did  not  leave  till  about  noon,  as  the  captain  of  the 
boat  had  a  daughter  in  the  place  to  be  married  that 
day.  The  passengers,  of  course,  had  nothing  for  it 
but  to  suffer  the  injustice  of  such  delay  with  what 
patience  they  might.  The  perfect  indifference  to  the 
interests  and  comfort  of  passengers,  displayed  by  the 
captains  of  steamboats,  on  the  rivers  and  lakes  here, 
cannot  fail  to  be  impressed  on  a  native  of  the  old 
country,  and  to  make  him  feel  that  matters  are,  as  yet, 
as  well  managed  at  home.  I  am  not  aware,  however, 
that  the  captains  of  the  lake  steamers  are  so  blamable 
on  this  account,  as  those  of  the  western  rivers. 

Going  down  the  lake,  we  touched  at  several  ports; 
the  principal  of  which  were  Cleveland,  and  Erie ;  the 
former  a  place  of  very  considerable  trade,  with  the 
advantage  of  being  situated  at  the  terminus  of  the 
Ohio  Canal.  After  a  hard  contested  race  with  another 
steamer  we  arrived  at  Buffalo. 

Buffalo,  situated  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  Lake 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  213 

Erie,  and  at  the  terminus  of  the  Erie  Canal,  is,  in  all 
probability,  destined  to  become  a  great  place,  as  it  is 
one  of  the  grand  keys  of  the  navigation  between  the 
eastern  and  western  states.  It  forms  an  example  of 
rapid  progression  astonishing,  even  in  the  States.  In 
1814,  the  place  was  destroyed  by  the  British,  and  only 
one  house  left  standing;  in  1830,  it  contained  6,321 
inhabitants,  and  in  1840,  the  population  had  increased 
to  18,356.  The  distance  to  Albany,  by  stage,  is  284 
miles;  and,  by  the  Erie  Canal,  363  miles.  Lines  of 
railway  have  been  commenced  at  Albany  and  Buffalo, 
and  are  being  laid  down  in  the  direction  of  the  canal, 
and  will,  doubtless,  at  no  distant  period,  accompany 
it  throughout  its  entire  length. 

An  extract  from  a  financial  report  of  the  state  of 
New  York,  may  serve  to  give  some  idea,  not  only  of 
the  importance  of  Buffalo,  but  also  of  the  immense 
natural  resources  of  the  western  states.  After  giving 
some  statements  relative  to  the  influence  of  the  Erie 
Canal  on  its  immediate  neighbourhood,  and  on  the 
State  of  New  York  generally,  the  report  proceeds  to 
state  the  present  extent  of  commerce  with  the  west, 
and  the  probable  future  results  to  be  derived  from 
commercial  intercourse  with  those  regions. 

"The  western  termination  of  the  Erie  Canal  (at 
Buffalo)  looks  out  upon  Lake  Erie,  the  most  southerly 
and  central  of  the  great  chain  of  navigable  lakes, 
which  stretches  far  into  the  interior  from  our  western 
boundary.  Around  these  inland  seas  a  cluster  of  five 
great  states  is  rapidly  rising.     The  territory  which 


214  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

they  comprise,  and  which  is  to  become  tributary  to 
the  canal,  embraces  that  great  area,  extending  from 
the  lakes  on  the  north  of  the  Ohio  in  the  south,  and 
from  the  western  confines  of  this  state  to  the  upper 
Mississippi,  containing  280,000  square  miles.  To 
measure  its  extent  by  well-known  objects,  it  is  fifteen 
times  as  large  as  that  part  of  the  state  of  New  York, 
west  of  the  county  of  Oneida  —  nearly  twice  as  large 
as  the  kingdom  of  France  —  and  about  six  times  as 
extensive  as  the  whole  of  England.  It  contains  180,- 
000,000  of  acres  of  arable  land,  a  large  portion  of 
which  is  of  surpassing  fertility. 

"In  the  brief  period  of  twenty-one  years,  such  has 
been  the  influx  of  population  into  this  great  district, 
that  Ohio,  the  eldest  member  of  this  brotherhood  of 
nations,  now  numbers  1,400,000  inhabitants,  Indiana 
upwards  of  600,000,  Illinois  and  Michigan,  (both  of 
whom  have  organized  governments,  and  came  into  the 
Union)  700,000;  while,  west  of  Lake  Michigan,  not 
only  is  Wisconsin  rapidly  rising,  but  even  beyond  the 
upper  Mississippi,  30,000  citizens  have  already  laid 
the  foundations  of  yet  another  state.  Such  is  the 
onward  march  of  this  population,  that  the  amount  of 
its  annual  increase  alone  exceeds  in  number  the  white 
inhabitants  of  ten  of  the  states  in  the  Union.  The 
population  already  embraced  within  the  district  in 
question  falls  short  of  three  millions,  and  if  the  same 
rate  of  progress  shall  be  maintained  for  the  twelve 
years  next  to  come,  by  1850  it  will  exceed  six  millions. 

' '  This  group  of  inland  states  has  two  outlets  for  its 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  215 

trade  to  the  ocean ;  one  by  the  Mississippi  to  the  gulf 
of  Mexico ;  the  other  through  Lake  Erie  and  the  nav- 
igable communications  of  this  state  to  the  Atlantic. 
Whether  it  be  attributable  to  similarity  of  origin,  or 
laws,  or  habits,  or  consanguinity,  or  superior  salubrity 
of  climate,  their  people  evidently  prefer  the  market 
in  the  Atlantic,  and  they  are  making  prodigious  efforts 
to  reach  it.  Three  great  canals  (one  of  them  longer 
than  the  Erie  Canal)  embracing  in  their  aggregate 
length  one  thousand  miles,  are  to  connect  the  Ohio 
with  Lake  Erie,  while  another  deep  and  capacious 
channel,  excavated  for  nearly  thirty  miles  through 
solid  rock,  unites  Lake  Michigan  with  the  navigable 
waters  of  the  Illinois.  In  addition  to  these  broad 
avenues  of  trade,  they  are  also  constructing  lines  of 
railroads,  not  less  than  1500  miles  in  extent,  in  order 
to  reach,  with  more  ease  and  speed,  the  lakes  through 
which  they  seek  a  conveyance  to  the  sea-board.  The 
undaunted  resolution  of  this  energetic  race  of  men  is 
strikingly  evinced  by  the  fact,  that  the  cost  of  the 
works  which  they  have  thus  undertaken  (and  most  of 
which  are  in  actual  progress)  will  exceed  forty-eight 
millions  of  dollars,  a  sum  far  exceeding  all  that  New 
York,  with  two  millions  of  inhabitants,  and  two  hun- 
dred years  of  accumulated  wealth,  has  ever  attempted. 
The  circumstance,  moreover,  is  particularly  import- 
ant, that  the  public  works  of  each  of  these  great  com- 
munities are  arranged  on  a  harmonious  plan,  each 
having  a  main  line  supported  and  enriched  by  lateral 
and  tributary  branches,  thereby  bringing  the  industry 


216  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

of  their  whole  people  into  prompt  and  profitable  ac- 
tion, while  the  systems  themselves  are  again  united  on 
a  grander  scale,  in  a  series  of  systems,  comprising  an 
aggregate  length  of  more  than  2500  miles,  with  Lake 
Erie  as  its  common  centre. 

"It  is  estimated  that  the  agricultural  products 
which  annually  descend  the  Mississippi  and  its  tribu- 
taries, have  already  reached  70,000,000  dollars.  The 
value  of  the  property  transported  on  the  canals  of  the 
state  of  New  York,  during  the  year  1836,  is  shown  by 
official  tables  to  be  67,000,000  dollars.  Of  that  amount 
it  may  be  estimated  that  50,000,000  dollars  consisted 
of  property  belonging  exclusively  to  a  portion  of  the 
population  of  this  state,  not  exceeding  a  million  and  a 
half  in  number,  being  at  the  rate  of  33  dollars  33  cents 
for  each  inhabitant ;  and  the  amount  which  they  paid 
for  its  transportation  exceeded  two  millions  of  dollars. 
If  the  same  scale  of  production  and  consumption  shall 
be  assumed  for  the  population  in  the  district  in  ques- 
tion (and  no  reason  is  perceived  why  it  should  not 
be),  the  six  millions  of  inhabitants  in  the  "West,  who 
will  resort  to  the  Erie  Canal  for  the  means  of  convey- 
ance, will  furnish  tonnage  in  exports,  and  imports,  of 
at  least  200,000,000  of  dollars  in  value.  The  experi- 
ence of  other  nations  will  shew,  that  this  amount  is 
not  over  estimated.  The  food  produced  in  England 
alone  in  the  year  1835,  by  an  agricultural  population 
of  about  eight  millions,  was  valued  by  the  political 
economists  at  604,000,000  dollars ;  and  that  of  France 
was  ascertained  by  its  minister  of  finance  to  be  5,237,- 
000,000  francs,  or  980,000,000  dollars. 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  217 

"But  there  are  peculiar  reasons  why  the  propor- 
tion of  agricultural  exports  of  this  great  inland  popu- 
lation should  far  exceed  that  of  other  nations.  The 
exuberance  of  their  soil,  the  salubrity  of  their  clim- 
ate, and  the  cheapness  of  their  lands  (arising  from 
the  vast  supply  within  their  limits)  will  enable  them 
always  to  furnish  food  to  every  other  portion  of  the 
continent,  on  more  advantageous  terms  than  it  can  be 
elsewhere  produced.  Labour  there  reaps  its  best  re- 
ward, and  harvest  of  an  hundred  fold  repay  its  exer- 
tions; and  such  will  always  be  the  superior  produc- 
tiveness of  this  region,  that  when  the  series  of  public 
works  shall  be  completed,  and  a  bushel  of  wheat  on 
the  plains  of  Indiana  shall  be  brought  within  a  few 
cents  in  price  of  a  bushel  in  New  England,  its  pro- 
duction in  New  England  must  cease.  The  same  cause 
will  probably  operate  to  change  the  culture  of  por- 
tions even  of  our  own  state ;  for  the  unequalled  fertil- 
ity of  the  West  will  always  enable  it  to  supply  those 
products  requiring  richness  of  soil,  with  a  less  amount 
of  labour,  and,  consequently,  at  a  cheaper  rate,  than 
they  can  be  produced  within  our  own  borders. 

"We  know  that  the  western  part  of  our  own  state 
is  increasing  in  numbers  with  considerable  rapidity, 
and  yet  that  it  furnishes  an  export  of  at  least  20,000,- 
000  dollars  in  value.  The  states  of  the  West,  around 
the  lakes,  by  the  year  1845  will  probably  hold  the 
same  relative  position  in  respect  to  the  whole  of  the 
Erie  Canal,  which  the  counties  of  New  York,  west  of 
the  Seneca  Lake,  now  bear  to  that  part  of  the  line 
east  of  Utica.    Our  trade  will  then  be  measured,  not 


218  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

by  counties,  but  by  sovereign  states,  themselves  con- 
taining their  fifty  counties;  and  our  revenues,  no 
longer  dependent  on  the  villages  and  townships  scat- 
tered along  the  borders  of  the  canal,  will  be  drawn 
from  the  wide  spread  and  populous  communities,  in- 
habiting the  broad  expanse  between  the  Ohio  and  the 
Lakes."6 


e  This  extract  is  taken  from  Buckingham 's  America. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

ON  landing  the  shorter  the  stay  the  emigrant  bound 
for  the  interior  can  make,  the  better,  as  it  saves 
both  time  and  money.  During  the  voyage  out  any  per- 
son of  ordinary  tact  can  gain  much  information  which 
may  be  of  future  benefit  to  him,  particularly  regard- 
ing his  operations  at  the  seaport  to  which  he  is  bound. 

As  my  remarks  refer  principally  to  the  state  of  Illi- 
nois,1 I  shall  bestow  attention  chiefly  on  the  routes 
leading  to  the  different  parts  of  that  portion  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley;  giving  some  of  the  intermediate 
places  and  distances. 

Emigrants  to  the  States  generally  land  in  New 
York.  Should  the  destination  of  the  emigrant  be  to 
any  part  of  Illinois  south  of  St.  Louis,  it  will  be  most 
to  his  advantage  to  take  a  route  leading  to  the  Ohio 
River,  as  he  can  drop  down  it  to  the  Wabash ;  which 
forms  the  boundary  of  the  state  or.  the  east,  for  a  dis- 

i  The  state  of  Illinois  lies  between  37  degrees  and  42  degrees 
30  minutes  north  latitude,  and  between  87  degrees  20  minutes 
and  91  degrees  20  minutes  longitude  west  from  greenwich.  It 
is  about  380  miles  long,  and  somewhat  over  200  miles  broad,  at 
its  widest  part;  containing  an  area,  including  the  part  of  Lake 
Michigan  within  its  boundaries,  of  59,000  square  miles;  some- 
what more  than  England  and  Wales,  whose  superficies  is  57,960 
square  miles.  The  outline  of  the  state,  1160  miles,  is  said,  with 
the  exception  of  305  miles,  to  consist  of  navigable  waters. 


220 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 


tance  of  two  hundred  miles  of  Boatable  water ;  thence 
he  can  run  along  the  southern  extremity  of  the  state 
to  a  point  at  the  junction  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi ; 
and  sailing  up  the  Mississippi,  which  forms  the  west- 
ern boundary,  can  take  any  of  the  intermediate  land- 
ings between  the  points  and  St.  Louis. 

One  route  from  New  York  to  the  Ohio,  is  by  Phila- 
delphia to  Pittsburgh. 

Route  from  New  York,  by  Philadelphia,  to  Pittsburgh 

Miles 
To    South  Amboy,  by  steamboat  .         .         .         25     — 
By  railroad  to  Bordentown     ....         33% —     58% 
By  steamboat  to  Philadelphia         .         .         .        29    —     87% 
By   railroad    to    Harrisburg   on   the   Susque- 
hanna river  ......       119     —  206 

By  Canal 

To    Juniata  river 15—221 

Millerstown 17—238 

Mifflin 17—255 

Lewiston    .......  13     —  268 

Waynesburg 14—282 

Hamiltonville 11—293 

Huntindon 7     —  300 

Petersburg 8—308 

Alexandria 23—331 

Frankstown  and  Hollidaysburg        .  3     —  334 

By  Railroad  across  the  Mountains. 
To    Johnstown 35     —  372 

By  Canal 

To  Blairsville 35—407 

Saltburg 18—425 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 


221 


Warren 

Allegheny  river 
Pittsburgh 


12  —  437 
16  —  453 

28  —  481 


Passengers  with  freight  or  heavy  luggage,  ought  to 
go  from  New  York  to  Philadelphia  by  the  "Trans- 
portation Line"  of  boats,  via  Delaware  and  Raritan 
Canal,  and  from  Philadelphia,  ought  to  take  the  same 
line  of  boats,  or  at  least  one  bearing  the  same  name, 
which  professes  to  carry  both  passengers  and  luggage 
or  freight  through  to  Pittsburgh  in  from  6y2  to  8 
days.    Meals  on  the  boat  cost  about  37y2  cents. 

The  fare  on  the  packets  on  this  line,  advertising  to 
go  through  in  five  days,  is  seven  dollars;  Whilst  the 
"Pioneer"  and  "Good  Intent  Lines"  advertise  to  go 
through  in  four  days,  at  ten  dollars.  Passengers  pay 
for  meals.  All  the  lines  are,  for  the  most  part,  some- 
what longer  in  performing  the  journey,  than  the  time 
specified  in  the  advertisements. 

Steamboat  Route  from  Pittsburgh  to  the  Mouth  of  the 

Ohio. 


To 


Middletown,  Pa. 
Economy    . 
Beaver 
Georgetown 
Wellsville,    O.    . 
Steubenville 
Wellsburg,   Va. 
Warren,  O. 
Wheeling,  Va.  . 
Sistersville 
Newport,  O. 


Miles 

10  — 

8  — 

18 

12  — 

30 

13  — 

43 

7  — 

50 

20  — 

70 

7  — 

77 

6  — 

83 

9  — 

92 

40  — 

132 

27  — 

159 

222  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 


Marietta    . 

Vienna,  Va. 

Parkersburg 

Belpre  and  Blennerhassett  's  Island 

Troy,  O.    . 

Belleville,  Va.  . 

Letarts  Rapids 

Point  Pleasant 

Gallipolis,  O.     . 

Guyandot,  Va. 

Burlington,  O.  . 

Greenupsburg,   Ky. 

Concord,  O. 

Portsmouth 

Alexandria 

Vanceburg,   Ky. 

Manchester,    O. 

Maysville,  Ky,  and  Aberdeen, 

Charleston,  Ky. 

Charleston,  Ky. 

Bipley,  O. 

Levana,  O.,  and  Dover,  Ky 

Augusta,   Ky.    . 

Mechanicsburg,  O 

Neville 

Moscow 

Point   Pleasant 

New   Richmond 

Columbia 

Cincinnati,  O.,  and  Covington  and  New 

port,   Ky. 
North   Bend       . 
Lawrenceburg,    Ind. 
Aurora 
Petersburg,  Ky. 


15 

—  174 

6 

—  180 

5 

—  185 

2 

—  187 

12 

—  199 

5 

—  204 

28 

—  232 

30 

—  262 

3 

—  265 

35 

—  300 

7 

—  307 

23 

—  330 

12 

—  342 

8 

—  350 

2 

—  352 

18 

—  370 

16 

—  386 

11 

—  397 

7 

—  404 

7 

—  404 

5 

—  409 

3 

—  412 

2 

—  414 

7 

—  421 

3 

—  424 

3 

—  427 

4 

—  431 

4 

—  435 

13 

—  448 

8 

—  456 

17 

—  473 

7 

—  480 

3 

—  483 

2 

—  485 

EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

223 

Belleview           ......           7 

—  492 

Rising  Sun,   Ind. 

3 

—  495 

Warsaw,  Ky.     . 

20 

—  515 

Vevay,  Ind.,  and  Ghent,  I 

Cy.    .        . 

11 

—  526 

Port  William,  Ky.     . 

8 

—  534 

Madison,  Ind.  . 

14 

—  548 

New  London     . 

7 

—  555 

Bethleham 

6 

—  561 

Westport,  Ky.  . 

6 

—  567 

Jeffersonville,  Ind.   . 

19 

—  586 

Louisville,    Ky. 

1 

—  587 

Shippingport 

3 

—  590 

Portland,  Ky.,  and  New 

Albany,  Ii 

ad. 

1 

—  591 

West  Point,  Ky. 

20 

—  611 

Brandenburg     . 

18 

—  629 

Mauckport,    Ind. 

3 

—  632 

Leavenworth 

14 

—  646 

Fredonia   . 

2 

—  648 

Stephensport,  Ky.,  and  E 

,ome,  Ind. 

34 

—  682 

Cloverport,  Ky. 

10 

—  692 

Troy,  Ind. 

21 

—  713 

Rockport  . 

16 

—  729 

Owenboro,  Ky.  . 

12 

—  741 

Evansville,  Ind. 

36 

—  777 

Henderson,  Ky. 

12 

—  789 

Mount  Vernon,  Ind. 

28 

—  817 

Carthage,  Ky.  . 

13 

—  830 

Wabash  River  . 

7 

—  837 

Raleigh,  Ky.     . 

6 

—  843 

Shawneetown,  Ills.    . 

6 

—  849 

Battery   Rock   . 

12 

—  861 

Cave  in  Rock  . 

9 

—  870 

Tower  Rock 

5 

—  875 

Goleonda,   Ills. 

15 

—  890 

Smithland,  mouth  of  Cun 

iberland  I 

iver 

18 

—  908 

224 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 


To 


Paducah,  mouth  of  Tennessee  River         .         12 

—  920 

Fort  Massac,  Ills.     . 

8 

—  928 

23 

—  951 

—  954 

Trinity       . 

5 

—  959 

Junction  of  the  Ohio  and 

Mississippi  Rivers     6 

—  965 

Steamboat  Route  from 

the  Mouth  of  the  Ohio  to 

St. 

Louis. 

Elk  Island 

8 

— 

Dog-tooth  Island 

. 

8 

—     16 

English  Island 

15 

—     31 

Cape  Girardeau,  Mo. 

12 

—     43 

10 

—     53 

Lacouse's  Island 

31 

—     84 

Kaskaskia  Eiver,  near  Chester,  Ills 

15 

—     99 

River  au  Vases 

10 

—  109 

St.  Genevieve,  Mo.  . 

9 

—  118 

Fort  Chartres  Island 

. 

10 

—  128 

10 

—  138 

Herculaneum,  Mo.     . 

. 

10 

—  148 

Harrison,  Ills.  . 

. 

1 

—  149 

Merrimac  River 

11 

—  160 

Carondelet,  Mo. 

13 

—  173 

7 

—  180 

According  to  one  of  the  guide  books,  "The  whole 
expense  of  a  single  person  from  New  York  to  St. 
Louis,  by  way  of  Philadelphia  and  Pittsburgh,  with 
cabin  passage  on  the  river,  will  range  between  40  dol- 
lars and  45  dollars,  time  from  twelve  to  fifteen  days. 
Taking  the  transportation  lines  on  the  Pennsylvania 
Canal,  and  a  deck  passage  on  the  steamboat,  the  ex- 
penses will  range  between  20  dollars  and  25  dollars, 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  225 

supposing  the  person  buys  his  meals  at  25  cents,  and 
eats  twice  a  day.  If  he  carry  his  own  provisions,  the 
passage,  etc.,  will  be  from  15  dollars  to  18  dollars." 

This  nearly  coincides  with  my  own  experiences; 
but,  at  the  same  time,  it  would  be  safe  to  calculate  on 
the  fares  being  somewhat  higher,  as  they  vary  con- 
siderably, according  to  circumstances;  say,  for  cabin 
passage  from  New  York  to  St.  Louis,  meals  included : 

dol.  c.      dol.  c. 

To    Philadelphia 3  50   to     3  50 

Pittsburgh 12         —  16 

Cincinnati        .         .         .         .         .         .10         —  15 

Louisville 4         —     6 

St.   Louis         ......       12         —  18 

41  50  —  58  50 

A  deck  passage,  without  meals,  may  be  stated  as 
follows : 

To    Philadelphia 1  —  1 

Pittsburgh 4  —  6 

Cincinnati 3  —  5 

Louisville  ......  1  —  2 

St.  Louis 4  —  6 

~Ti         —  20 

The  place  for  deck  passengers  is  the  deck  on  which 
are  the  engine  and  boilers ;  it  is  enclosed  on  the  sides, 
and  is  situated  immediately  below  the  cabin  deck ;  the 
cabin  again  being  surmounted  by  a  third  deck,  the 
hurricane  deck,  which  covers  the  whole. 

The  cabin  fares  on  the  western  rivers  always  include 
meals.     The  deck  passenger  must  carry  bedding  and 


226 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 


food,  or  take  his  meals  with  the  erew  of  the  boat,  at 
25  cents  a  meal. 

Should  the  emigrant  be  desirous  of  going  to  the 
northern  part  of  Illinois,  the  best  route  will  be  from 
New  York,  by  Buffalo,  to  Chicago,  on  the  southern 
extremity  of  Lake  Michigan;  and  this  is  the  best 
route,  not  only  for  the  north  of  St.  Louis,  but  for  a 
large  proportion  of  the  state,  in  autumn,  when  the 
Ohio  is  apt  to  become  too  low  for  the  passage  of  steam- 
boats. 

Steamboat  and  Canal  Route  from  New  York  to 
Chicago,  Illinois. 

Miles 
To    Albany,  by  steamboat       ....       145    — 
Buffalo,  by  Erie  Canal     .        .         .  353    —  508 

Route  from  Buffalo  to  Chicago,  by  Lake  Steamer. 


To    Dunkirk,    N.  Y. 
Portland    . 
Erie,  Pa.  . 
Ashtabula,  O.   . 
Fairport    . 
Cleveland,  O.     . 
Sandusky 

Amherstburg,  U.  C. 
Detroit,  Mich.  . 
Point  au  Barques 
Mackinaw 
Big  Beaver  Island 
Manitou  Isles    . 
Milwauky,  Wis.    Ter 
Chicago,  111. 


39  —  547 

18  —  565 

35  —  600 

39  —  639 
32  —  671 
30  —  701 

54  —  755 
52  —  807 
18  —  825 

160  —  985 

195  —1180 

55  —1235 

40  —1275 
180  —1455 

81  —1536 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  227 

The  expences,  by  this  route,  are  nearly  as  under : — 

dol.    dol. 
From  New  York  to   Albany,   by  barge   attached 

to  steamer .  1  to     1 

Albany  to  Buffalo 3  —     5 

Buffalo  to  Chicago  .         .         .         .         .         .         12  —  15 

16  —  21 

The  above  is  for  deck  passage,  and  does  not  include 
meals. 

A  passage  from  Buffalo  to  Chicago  may  be  had,  in 
one  of  the  lake  schooners,  for  less  than  half  the  fare 
charged  by  the  steamers;  but  those  vessels  are  some- 
times several  weeks  on  the  voyage,  whilst  the  steam- 
ers accomplish  it  in  five  or  six  days. 

The  fare  on  the  Erie  Canal,  for  those  who  provide 
their  own  food  and  bedding,  is  about  iy2  cents;  and 
for  those  who  board  with  the  captain,  2y2  cents  per 
mile.  Should  the  passenger  be  desirous  of  providing 
his  own  food  whilst  on  the  canal,  he  can  do  so  with 
little  difficulty,  as  there  are  numerous  towns  and  vil- 
lages along  the  line,  and  he  is  allowed  the  cooking 
apparatus  of  the  boat;  but  not  till  the  captain's  pas- 
sengers and  crew  have  done  with  them. 

Those  who  can  afford  it,  and  are  not  encumbered 
with  luggage,  have  the  choice  of  railroad  for  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  line,  and  for  the  rest  the  packet 
boats,  exclusively  for  passengers,  on  which  the  fare  is 
four  cents  a  mile,  board  included,  and  which  go  at  the 
rate  of  five  miles  an  hour,  whilst  those  carrying  both 


228 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 


freight  and  passengers  may  accomplish  about  half 
that  speed- 
Between  Chicago  and  St.  Louis  there  is  not  yet 
water  conveyance  through,  but  a  canal  is  being  made, 
which,  it  is  said,  will  be  finished  in  1844  at  farthest, 
and  which  will  connect  Lake  Michigan  with  the  boat- 
able  waters  of  the  Illinois  river  at  Peru,  a  distance  of 
between  ninety  and  a  hundred  miles  from  Chicago.  A 
waggon  can  be  had  from  Chicago  to  Peru  for  about 
fifty  dollars,  which  will  convey  a  family  of  three  or 
four,  and  a  considerable  amount  of  luggage.  Stage 
fare  is  about  six  cents  a  mile.  Meals,  at  the  stage 
houses,  thirty-seven  and  a  half  cents. 

Route  from  Peru  to  St.  Louis  by  Steamer. 

To    Peoria 
Pekin 
Havannah 
Beardstown 
Meredosia 
Naples 

Mo(n)tezuma 
Grafton 
St.  Louis,  Mo. 

I  am  not  acquainted  with  the  fares  on  this  route; 
but,  comparing  them  with  those  of  other  routes  on  the 
western  rivers,  should  think  four  dollars  a  sufficiently 
high  estimate. 

There  is  still  another  route  from  New  York  to  the 
southern  parts  of  Illinois,  branching  off  from  the  pre- 


Mile 
58 

s 

6 

—  64 

33 

—  97 

38 

—  135 

16 

—  151 

6 

—  157 

20 

—  177 

58 

—  235 

37 

—  272 

EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  229 

ceding  one  at  Cleveland,  and  by  the  Ohio  and  Erie 
Canal,  leading  to  the  Ohio  river,  at  Portsmouth; 
■where  it  joins  the  route  from  New  York  by  Phila- 
delphia and  Pittsburgh.  It  is  about  170  miles  longer 
than  the  route  last  mentioned ;  the  additional  distance 
will  add  two  or  three  dollars  to  the  expenses. 

Perhaps  the  best  route  from  Britain  to  any  part  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  decidedly  the  best  to  those 
parts  adjacent  to  the  Mississippi  or  Missouri  rivers, 
is  by  New  Orleans.  The  only  disadvantage  attending 
the  route  is,  that  vessels  direct  from  British  ports  can- 
not be  had  at  all  times ;  but  the  difference  in  expence, 
between  this  and  the  eastern  routes,  is  so  material,  that 
a  little  time  and  money  would  be  well  bestowed  in  ob- 
taining it.  I  am  aware  of  an  instance  of  an  emigrant 
going  from  Liverpool  to  Peoria,  180  miles  above  St. 
Louis,  for  five  pounds  sterling,  and  in  all  cases  the 
difference  in  expence  would  be  nearly  one-half.  There 
is  no  difficulty  or  delay  at  New  Orleans,  as  steamers 
are  daily  leaving  for  St.  Louis  and  Cincinnati.  The 
cabin  fare  from  New  Orleans  to  Cincinnati,  a  distance 
of  1547  miles,  is  about  25  dollars ;  and  it  is  reasonable 
to  suppose  that  the  fare  to  St.  Louis,  a  distance  of 
1218,  will  not  be  more.  The  deck  fare  is  seldom  more, 
and  is  frequently  less  than  one-third  of  that  of  the 
cabin;  at  which  rate  the  deck  passage  from  New  Or- 
leans to  St.  Louis  would  be  about  8  dollars. 

In  all  cases  a  bargain  ought  to  be  made  for  the 
freight  or  extra  luggage,  at  so  much  per  100  lbs. ;  with 
a  clear  understanding  how  much  the  passenger  shall 


230  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

be  allowed  to  carry  free  of  charge;  and  this  is  par- 
ticularly necessary  on  the  western  waters,  where  the 
fares  are,  in  a  great  measure,  regulated  by  the  number 
of  boats  about  to  start.  In  a  general  way  50  lbs.  on 
the  canal  boats,  and  100  lbs.  on  the  steamers,  are 
allowed,  free  of  charge,  for  each  adult.  The  price  of 
freight  on  the  canals  is  about  twenty-five  cents  per  100 
lbs.  for  100  miles.  By  the  steamers  it  is  somewhat 
lower.  The  fare  for  children  below  twelve  years  of 
age  is  one-half  of  that  for  adults. 

The  less  luggage  the  emigrant  has,  beyond  what  is 
absolutely  necessary,  the  better;  but  should  there  be 
a  considerable  quantity,  it  ought  to  be  divided  into 
packages  that  can  easily  be  managed  by  two  people. 
Each  package  ought  to  have  the  owner's  name,  or 
initials,  with  a  number  legibly  painted  upon  it ;  as  it 
is  much  easier,  in  sometimes  hurried  transference  from 
one  conveyance  to  another,  to  see  that  the  number  is 
complete,  than  to  tax  the  memory  by  individualizing 
each;  besides,  it  may  be  of  use  to  make  a  list  of  the 
articles  contained  in  each  number,  so  that  in  case  any- 
thing should  be  wanted  on  the  journey,  it  may  be 
known,  by  referring  to  the  list,  in  which  number  the 
article  is  contained.  It  is  a  waste  of  money  to  take 
out  furniture  of  almost  any  kind,  as  it  is  very  liable 
to  be  smashed  to  pieces,  and,  when  it  does  arrive  safe 
at  its  destination,  is  frequently  found  to  be  altogether 
inappropriate.  He  is  a  poor  mechanic,  who  cannot 
make  most  of  the  furnishings  of  a  shanty,  and  a 
shanty,  or  camping  out,  is  likely  to  be  the  fate  of  an 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  231 

emigrant  and  his  family  for  some  time  at  least,  unless 
he  have  friends  who  will  shelter  him.  He  may  lodge 
in  a  boarding-house  in  some  town,  but  that  is  expen- 
sive; besides  he  has  no  need  of  his  furniture  there, 
which  will  be  incurring  a  constantly  accumulating  ex- 
pense in  storage  and  other  dues. 

As  soon  as  the  emigrant  arrives  at  his  destination, 
which  ought  not  to  be  far  from  some  navigable  river, 
or  other  outlet  for  produce,  his  first  care,  if  he  intend 
to  purchase  land,  will  be  to  fix  upon  a  proper  location ; 
and  this,  to  a  stranger,  is  a  matter  of  no  small  diffi- 
culty. If  he  have  friends  in  the  country,  or  have  let- 
ters of  introduction  from  some  mutual  friend  to  any 
who  have  previously  emigrated,  this  difficulty  is  easily 
got  over,  otherwise  it  will  be  better  to  trust  to  the 
advice  even  of  strangers,  than  to  his  own  judgement, 
as  any  previous  experience  he  may  have  had  will  not 
be  sufficient  to  direct  him  in  a  country  where  so  much 
must  be  new  to  him.  Of  course  he  will  not  place  im- 
plicit confidence  in  the  advice  of  any  who  may  have 
interested  motives. 

As  a  healthy  situation  is  of  the  greatest  importance, 
care  ought  to  be  taken  in  securing  one;  and  in  this 
particular,  the  emigrant  will  find  himself  as  much  at 
loss,  as  in  any  on  which  he  has  to  exercise  his  judge- 
ment, for  no  matter  what  the  situation,  or  the  part  of 
the  country  be,  the  reply  to  a  question  regarding  its 
healthiness  will  almost  invariably  be  favourable. — 
"Is  your  settlement  a  healthy  one, sir?" — "Oh,  yes, 
quite  healthy." — "What  do  you  think  of  the  country 


232  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

on  the  other  side  of  the  river?" — "Well,  guess  its 
full  of  ague ;  and  the  way  in  which  the  mosquitos  fix 
one  is  a  caution ;  'taint  fit  for  nothing  but  a  bullfrog 
or  a  half-breed  Frenchman." — "But  you  have  ague 
here  sometimes,  have  you  not  ? ' ' — ' '  Oh,  yes,  but  'taint 
of  no  account. ' '  Go  over  on  the  other  side  of  the  river 
and  the  answers  will  most  likely  be  to  the  same  effect. 

The  undulating  prairies,  exposed  to  every  breeze, 
are  beyond  doubt  the  most  healthy,  and  although  they 
are  swept  at  intervals,  during  the  short  winters  which 
prevail,  by  the  piercing  north-west  wind  chilled  by  a 
temperature  at  zero,  yet  ample  amends  is  made  by  the 
refreshing  day  breeze  which  regularly  fans  them  dur- 
ing the  heats  of  summer ;  making  them  tolerable  when 
the  woods  and  bottoms  are  hot  almost  to  suffocation; 
besides  a  few  years,  with  very  little  expense  and 
trouble,  will  raise  a  barrier  of  trees  to  oppose  the  wind 
from  the  cold  points ;  and  last,  though  not  least,  there 
are  few  or  no  mosquitos  on  the  rolling  prairies ;  a  boon 
which  can  be  properly  estimated  only  by  those  who 
have  experienced  the  annoyance  of  these  pests. 

Next  to  the  prairies,  the  summit  or  intermediate 
back  of  the  bluffs  on  the  Mississippi,  is  said  to  be  most 
healthy,  as  there  is  generally  a  breeze  blowing  up  and 
down  the  river.  There  may  be  something  too,  in  the 
bluffs  being  higher,  particularly  when  rocky,  than  the 
general  face  of  this  country;  the  land  sloping  back 
for  some  distance  into  the  interior;  and  the  springs 
and  rivulets  running,  often  at  right  angles,  and  in 
some  instances,   for  miles  directly   contrary   to  the 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  233 

course  of  the  river,  till  they  join  some  creek  which 
has  forced  a  passage  through  the  bluff,  or  has  found 
no  bluff  to  contend  with  farther  down  the  country. 

A  few  feet  above  the  general  level  may  appear  of 
small  consequence,  yet  such  is  not  the  case ;  and  those 
situations  are  universally  esteemed  healthy.  They 
may  be  islands  in  the  sea  of  miasm;  an  illustration 
perhaps  not  altogether  fanciful,  as  very  little  observa- 
tion is  necessary  to  convince  any  one  with  ordinary 
senses,  that  the  bottoms,  and  valleys  branching  out 
from  them,  are  frequently  filled  with  an  atmosphere 
of  very  different  quality  from  that  on  the  ridges  and 
higher  grounds;  particularly  towards  sunset  and 
through  the  night.  The  atmosphere  has  a  foetid  smell ; 
is  comparatively  cold,  uncomfortably  so  to  a  person 
who  is  thinly  clad ;  and  in  calm  weather,  level  on  the 
surface,  for  a  person  may  wade  into  it  up  to  the  neck, 
and  then  duck  his  head  in  and  out. 

The  bottoms,  or  alluvial  flats  on  the  rivers,  are  all 
more  or  less  unhealthy ;  but  it  is  said  that  if  a  settle- 
ment is  made  there,  the  nearer  it  is  to  the  bank  of  the 
river  the  better.  It  is  a  feature  of  the  western  rivers 
that  the  bottoms2  are  frequently  more  elevated  near 
the  river  than  farther  back  towards  the  bluffs,  where 
they  are  often  marshy  and  abounding  in  stagnant 

2  By  "bottom"  is  meant  the  level  ground  at  the  sides  of 
rivers,  creeks,  etc.  Every  Scotchman  will  understand  me,  when 
I  tell  him  it  is  synonymous  with  the  word  "haugh"  or  "holm." 
The  bluffs  are  the  rising  ground  or  at  the  lateral  termination 
of  the  bottoms.  They  are  sometimes  precipitous  like  our  scaurs, 
and  at  others  form  fine  banks  down  to  the  plain. 


234  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

lagoons  and  backwaters,  which  are  filled,  when  the 
river  overflows  its  banks  at  the  periodical  risings  or 
freshets,  and  on  the  subsidence  of  the  waters,  are  left 
full  of  vegetable  matter  to  putrify  in  an  almost  trop- 
ical sun.  These  are  the  chosen  abodes  of  myriads  of 
piping  toads  and  frogs,  water  snakes,  mud  turtles,  and 
several  kinds  of  fish,  of  such  qualities  and  appearance, 
as  one  might  naturally  expect  to  meet  with  in  such 
villainous  places.  The  want  of  wholesome  water  is  a 
serious  objection  to  settling  on  bottom  lands ;  water  no 
doubt  can  be  had  by  sinking  to  no  great  depth  in  any 
part  of  them,  but  it  is  universally  impregnated  with 
something  imparting  to  it  deleterious  qualities  and  a 
nauseous  taste,  and  frequently  looks  as  if  hay  had 
been  steeped  in  it.  Indeed  the  water  in  the  branches 
and  creeks,  muddy  though  it  be,  is  esteemed  more 
wholesome  than  that  of  these  wells.  Add  to  this,  the 
equal  to  Egyptian  plague  of  mosquitos,  a  plague  sel- 
dom ending  day  or  night  for  many  months  in  the 
year,  and  there  is  a  fitting  climax  to  all  the  other 
evils. 

On  rivers,  and  marshes,  the  western  is  esteemed 
healthier  than  the  eastern  side;  as  the  prevailing 
winds  during  the  summer  and  autumn  months  are 
from  the  west,  or  some  of  the  neighbouring  points. 

If  the  emigrant  be  single,  it  will  be  his  wisest  course 
not  to  be  hasty  in  the  selection  of  a  farm,  for  if  a 
mechanic  3  in  any  of  the  ordinary  trades,  he  can  easily 

3  I  am  here  supposing  the  emigrant  desirous  of  buying  land, 
for  it  would  be  needless  for  a  mechanic  to  go  so  far  West  as 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  235 

procure  work  in  some  of  the  towns  in  the  prairies,  till 
such  time  as  he  may  become  acquainted  with  the  coun- 
try and  the  habits  of  the  people.  If  he  have  previ- 
ously been  a  farmer,  or  farm  servant,  he  can  board 
himself  with  some  farmer  on  the  prairie  for  a  dollar 
a-week;  and  will  be  very  unlucky,  indeed,  if  he  can- 
not make  instead  of  losing  money,  if  he  should  only 
work  half  the  time ;  seeing  a  labouring  man  can  obtain 
a  dollar  a  day  and  his  board. 

"When  the  emigrant  has  a  family,  his  best  course 
will  be  to  make  a  settlement  as  speedily  as  possible, 
and  he  need  not  be  very  many  days,  after  having 
pitched  upon  a  spot,  in  raising  a  few  huts  or  shanties ; 
for  he  has  nothing  to  do  but  to  go  round  among  his 
neighbours,  and  request  their  assistance,  which  will  be 
cheerfully  rendered  without  any  remuneration,  except 
good  cheer,  and,  it  may  be,  future  assistance  of  a  sim- 
ilar kind.  A  more  comfortable  dwelling,  and  other 
accomodation,  can  be  supplied  by  the  same  means, 
when  the  more  pressing  concerns  are  disposed  of ;  but 
before  this  takes  place,  it  ought  to  be  ascertained  if 
water  can  be  had  near  to  the  spot  iixed  upon.  This 
can  be  done  either  by  boring,  or  what  is  perhaps  quite 
as  cheap  a  method,  by  sinking  a  well  at  once ;  an  affair 
of  no  great  difficulty,  as  the  prairie  is  almost  one 
entire  bed  of  alluvial  matter. 

"Water  is  generally  got  at  a  depth  of  about  thirty 
feet,  and,  what  is  singular,  the  higher  the  situation, 

Illinois,  as,  if  a  good  workman,  he  could  easily  procure  employ- 
ment farther  east. 


236  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

the  greater  is  the  certainty  of  finding  water  at  a 
moderate  depth.  I  do  not  pretend  to  account  for  this, 
but  it  is  a  circumstance,  the  truth  of  which,  though 
often  asserted,  I  never  heard  doubted,  and  which  my 
own  experience  inclines  me  to  credit.4  I  have  noticed, 
however,  that  the  alluvion  on  the  most  elevated  parts 
of  the  prairie,  is  often  not  so  deep  as  in  the  lower 
situations;  as  rock  of  some  kind  is  frequently  found 
in  sinking  wells,  and  thus  there  may  be  struck  springs, 
or  the  water  discharged  from  springs  and  collected 
from  other  sources,  which  will  naturally  circulate  be- 
tween the  alluvion  and  the  denser  materials  below. 
That  there  are  springs,  any  one  may  be  satisfied  by 
examining  the  bluffs  on  the  river  courses,  where  they 
are  frequently  in  great  abundance. 

Should  the  emigrant  be  desirous  of  having  a  frame 
or  brick  house,  he  must  employ  regular  mechanics. 

I  ought  to  mention,  that  it  is  only  at  the  raising  of 
the  house  that  the  stranger  will  receive  assistance  a 
second  time.  He  must,  either  himself,  or  with  hired 
assistance,  cut  down  the  timber,  log  it  off  at  the  proper 
lengths,  and  score  and  hew  it  down  on  two  opposite 
sides  to  the  proper  thickness  (about  nine  inches)  ;  he 
must  also  cut  timber,  and  split  it  for  clapboards  and 
shingles,  for  roofing  and  weatherboarding ;  then  he 
must  prepare  joists  and  spars,  which  are  laid  length- 
wise between  the  gables  instead  of  couples ;  and  lastly, 

*  The  rolling  prairies  are  here  referred  to,  and  not  bottoms, 
marshes,  or  basins,  the  receptacles  of  all  water  circulating 
through  the  soil  of  a  tract  of  country. 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  237 

must  have  all  hauled  to  the  spot.  At  this  stage  the 
assistance  of  his  neighbours  is  requested,  who,  on  their 
arrival  proceed  to  portion  themselves  off  into  gangs 
with  a  determinate  job  for  each.  As  the  notching,  or 
dovetailing  the  corners,  is  an  operation  requiring  con- 
siderable adroitness,  those  who  are  considered  to  be 
the  best  handlers  of  the  axe,  or  to  have  most  experi- 
ence in  that  part  of  the  work,  are  selected  as  corner- 
men; each  standing  on  a  corner  and  there  notching, 
fitting  and  squaring  off  his  end  of  the  log,  as  it  is 
raised  up  to  him,  with  great  dexterity  and  precision. 
After  three  or  four  rounds  are  on  the  walls,  sloping 
spars  are  applied  to  them,  and  the  logs  are  rolled  up, 
at  first  with  the  hands,  and  finally  with  forked  sticks. 
This  operation,  when  the  logs  are  green  and  heavy, 
requires  a  good  deal  of  hands;  as  there  ought  to  be 
at  least  two  gangs,  each  capable  of  hoisting  up  a  log, 
and  each  taking  charge  of  a  side  and  end  of  the  build- 
ing, so  that  the  logs  at  the  opposite  or  ends  may  be 
raised  simultaneously.  The  logs  are  not  laid  quite 
close,  an  interval  of  two  or  three  inches  being  left 
between  each,  which  is  afterwards  chunked  and 
daubed,  i.e.,  filled  up  with  bits  of  wood,  and  plastered 
with  clay  or  mortar ;  the  two  hewn  sides  thus  forming 
the  outer  and  inner  surfaces  of  the  wall. 

In  the  cities  and  more  populous  parts,  the  clap- 
boards are  made,  perhaps  about  twenty  inches  in 
length,  of  pine,  or  some  other  wood  that  splits  freely, 
and  does  not  warp,  and  are  nailed  on  like  slates ;  but, 
in  the  newer  districts,  they  are  about  four  feet  long. 


238  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

and,  though  sometimes  nailed  on,  are  frequently  held 
down  by  heavy  transverse  spars,  kept  at  the  proper 
distances  by  blocks  of  wood.  In  this  manner  the  walls 
of  a  substantial  log-house  are  raised,  and  the  roof  put 
on,  often  in  one  day,  without  so  much  as  a  nail  being 
used. 

Next  comes  the  sawing  out  of  the  apertures  for 
doors  and  windows,  and  space  at  one  end  for  a  fire- 
place. In  the  log-houses  of  the  West  there  are,  in 
such  a  house  as  I  have  described,  generally  two  doors, 
one  on  each  side,  in  order  to  secure  the  luxury  of  a 
current  of  air  through  the  house  in  hot  weather,  and 
very  often  to  light  the  interior,  for  it  is  sometimes  a 
difficult  matter  to  get  window  frames.  When  the 
season  becomes  cold,  the  door  exposed  to  the  wind  is 
shut ;  and  in  the  short  periods  of  extreme  cold,  when 
both  are  shut,  the  room  is  sufficiently  cheerful  from 
the  effects  of  a  roaring  fire.  In  the  gable  is  cut  the 
opening  for  the  fireplace,  which,  with  the  chimney,  is 
outside,  and  is  sometimes  built  of  brick  or  stone,  but 
much  more  frequently  of  wood  plastered  over  with 
mud. 

Sleepers  being  laid  down,  and  plank  procured,  if 
there  is  a  sawmill  in  the  neighbourhood,  the  floor  is 
laid  down,  often  without  being  nailed  or  jointed.  In 
lack  of  plank,  trees  are  split  up  into  what  are  termed 
puncheons,  of  three  or  four  inches  in  thickness,  which 
are  laid  down  on  the  sleepers,  and,  with  a  little  care 
in  hewing  and  fitting,  make  a.  very  good  floor. 

There  is  frequently  met  with  a  habitation  consisting 
of  two  apartments  such  as  the  one  I  have  described, 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  239 

built  in  the  same  line,  with  their  gables  ten  or  twelve 
feet  apart;  the  intervening  space  and  all  under  one 
roof.  This  space,  which  is  called  a  stoop,  or  porch,  is 
floored,  and,  in  summer,  is  the  resort  of  the  inmates 
when  at  meals  or  enjoying  the  shade.  Sometimes  the 
roof  is  made  to  project,  so  that  there  is,  in  front  of 
the  house,  a  stoop  of  five  or  six  feet  wide  supported  on 
posts ;  but  this  is  not  so  sure  to  catch  a  breeze  as  the 
other. 

As  soon  as  possible,  other  buildings,  such  as  a 
smoke-house,  stable,  corn-cribs,  barn,  etc.,  are  added. 
The  smoke-house  is  generally  used  as  a  larder  or  store- 
house for  provisions,  milk,  etc.,  except  at  the  season 
when  the  pork  is  cured  and  smoked,  the  latter  opera- 
tion being  universally  practiced. 

Fencing  the  farm  is  an  operation  requiring  speedy 
attention,  as  without  it  no  crop  is  secure  from  the 
depradations  of  cattle  and  horses,  which  roam  over 
the  prairies  and  through  the  woods  at  will;  all  land 
which  is  not  enclosed  being  common.  The  almost 
universal  fence  is  the  zig  zag  or  worm  fence,  which  is 
constructed  of  split  rails.  A  tree  being  selected  by  the 
chopper  is  cut  down,  logged  off  into  lengths  of  ten 
feet,  and  split  with  wedges  and  the  axe.  In  the  bot- 
toms where  the  timber  is  good,  many  trees  will  make 
four  or  five  cuts  without  a  limb;  affording  from  150 
to  200  heavy  rails.  It  is  reckoned  a  good  day's  work 
for  a  man  to  cut  down,  log  off,  and  split  up  such  a  tree 
into  rails.  From  100  to  150  rails  among  good  timber, 
is  a  good  day's  work ;  among  timber  of  inferior  quality 
of  course  so  many  cannot  be  made. 


240  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

At  first  sight  the  worm  fence  appears  very  ineffi- 
cient, but  on  a  closer  inspection  and  more  intimate 
acquaintance  with  its  qualities  it  improves  in  one's 
estimation,  and  it  would  certainly  be  difficult  for  the 
pioneer  settler  to  substitute  anything  so  efficient  and 
at  the  same  time  so  easily  to  be  got.  Stone  is  not  to 
be  had  on  the  prairies,  except  on  the  banks  of  rivers 
and  creeks,  where  it  sometimes  appears  in  the  bluffs; 
but  if  it  even  were  at  hand,  it  would  be  to  quarry  and 
haul,  and  would  cost  more  labour  and  money  than 
cutting  and  hauling  rails;  and  then  every  man  is  not 
a  mason,  but  any  man  of  ordinary  physical  powers 
can  put  up  200  yards  of  rail  fence  in  a  day,  or  fence 
about  30  acres  in  a  week;  and,  when  the  timber  is 
good,  such  a  fence,  with  some  repairs,  will  last  ten  or 
twelve  years.  The  fences  generally  consist  of  eight 
or  nine  rails,  and,  if  the  rails  be  strong,  may  be  in  the 
one  instance,  about  41/2  or  5  feet,  and  in  the  other 
about  6  feet  high  when  made  with  stake  and  rider, 
which  is  done  by  sinking,  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
fence,  at  each  corner  where  the  ends  of  the  rails  are 
piled  upon  one  another,  two  stakes  of  about  8  feet 
long,  and  causing  their  upper  ends  to  cross  over  the 
fence.  Into  this  cross  or  angle  is  laid  one  end  of  the 
rider,  the  other  end  being  laid  into  the  simliar  angle 
at  the  next  corner ;  thus  at  once  heightening  the  fence 
and  binding  it  at  each  corner.  This  is  the  legal  fence, 
which,  if  broken  through  by  cattle,  entitles  the  owner 
to  damages,  which  cannot  be  claimed  when  the  fence 
is  without  stake  and  rider. 

Seeing  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  the  cultivated 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  241 

land  should  be  fenced,  the  settler  must  endeavour  to 
procure  a  farm,  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  timber 
upon  it,  for  that  purpose.  This  he  may  chance  to  find 
a  matter  of  considerable  difficulty  where  there  are 
many  settlements,  as  the  first  settlers  have  not  only 
pitched  upon  the  spots  most  favoured  in  this  respect, 
but  have  without  exception,  and  in  defiance  of  the 
law,  ransacked  all  the  government  lands  within  reach ; 
never  cutting  a  stick  of  their  own  for  any  purpose  so 
long  as  there  is  any  suitable  that  can  be  stolen 
from  U.  S.  or  Uncle  Sam  as  they  facetiously  term  the 
United  States  government.    But  of  all  the  destructive 

"your  tanner"  is  the  worst.     He  with  his 

myrmidons  sallies  forth,  axe  in  hand,  and  levels  in 
the  dust  the  monarchs  of  the  wood  who  haply  have 
withstood  the  blasts  of  three  hundred  winters,  and, 
having  stripped  them  of  their  bark,  leaves  them  to 
rot.  To  an  Englishman  who  has  a  habitual  reverence 
for  fine  timber,  such  destruction  would  appear,  to 
say  the  least  of  it,  very  injudicious;  but  throughout 
the  Union  the  inhabitants  seem  to  be  excited  by  a 
spirit  of  extermination  against  trees. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  some  other  method  of 
fencing  will  be  resorted  to  at  no  distant  period ;  and 
I  do  not  think  there  will  be  any  difficulty  in  making 
quick  fences,  as  there  are  plenty  of  indigenous  trees 
and  shrubs,  such  as  the  wild  apple,  the  plum,  locust, 
etc.,  which  thrive  very  well  on  almost  any  part  of  the 
prairie.  The  apple  and  plum  can  be  raised  in  any 
quantity  from  the  seed  and  stones;  and  I  have  seen 
the  black  locust  which  had  been  raised  from  seed,  and, 


242  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

at  the  end  of  three  years,  had  attained  a  height  of 
upwards  of  twenty  feet.  There  may  often  be  noticed 
along  a  line  of  fence  which  has  stood  for  a  few  years, 
such  a  growth  of  young  trees,  wild  apples  and  plums, 
as  would  make  an  impregnable  fence,  with  the  addition 
of  a  few  grape  vines,  and  a  little  care  bestowed  in 
trimming.  Grape  vines  abound  in  all  the  woods  and 
run  to  a  great  length.  They  may  frequently  be  seen 
attached  to  the  limbs  of  trees  at  a  height  of  seventy 
or  eighty  feet.  But  quick  fences  and  many  other  im- 
provements must  be  the  result  of  time  as  the  settler, 
for  some  years  at  least,  is  sufficiently  occupied  in 
obtaining  the  readiest  and  most  necessary  conveni- 
ences. Where  a  man  is  possessed  of  that  best  source 
of  riches  in  a  new  country,  a  family  of  stout  sons,  the 
means  of  comfort  are  soon  attained ;  but  where  he  has 
everything  to  attend  to  himself,  it  is  quite  impossible 
either  that  all  should  be  done  well,  or  that  many  neces- 
sary operations  should  not  be  altogether  omitted. 

Among  the  first  cares  of  every  one  settling  on  a  new 
place  ought  to  be  the  planting  out  an  orchard  of  apple 
trees; — the  source  of  a  simple  and  palatable  luxury 
throughout  the  year  —  the  apples  being  preserved  by 
slicing  them  down  and  drying  them  in  the  sun.  Some 
care  ought  to  be  taken  in  the  selection  of  the  trees, 
for  when  they  are  raised  from  the  seed,  as  they  almost 
invariably  are  in  the  back  settlements,  it  sometimes 
happens,  that  out  of  one  hundred  trees  there  is  not 
one  bearing  palatable  fruit.  This  could  easily  be 
remedied,  by  going  through  among  the  neighbouring 
orchards  and  selecting  cuttings   from  such   as  are 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  243 

known  to  be  the  best  trees,  and  engrafting  them  either 
on  stocks  raised  from  seed  or  on  the  wild  apple ;  which 
answers  very  well  and  is  to  be  found  all  over  the 
country.5 

Nobody,  after  the  first  three  or  four  years,  need 
want  peaches,  as,  by  planting  the  stones  in  the  corners 
of  the  zig  zag  fences,  he  will  soon  have  trees;  which 
grow  with  surprising  rapidity;  and  a  plentiful  supply 
of  fruit  which,  though  not  so  large  as  the  carefully 
selected  kinds  in  Europe,  yet  is  very  delicious;  and, 
being  split  and  dried  in  the  sun,  forms  a  considerable 
addition  to  the  somewhat  meagre  comforts  of  a  new 
settler's  table. 

The  apple  and  peach  are  sometimes  so  abundant 
that  they  are  given  to  the  hogs.  The  peaches,  how- 
ever, are  mostly  preserved,  and  either  hauled  to  mar- 
ket if  there  is  one  near,  or  taken  to  a  distillery  for 
the  purpose  of  making  peach  brandy. 

Cost  of  Erecting  a  House  18  by  20  feet,  and  Other 

Buildings,  etc. 

d.   c. 

Six  days  cutting  down  and  logging  of  tree?,  at  one 

dollar  per  day 6  00 

Six  days  hauling  logs  one  mile,  one  man  and  two 

yoke  of  oxen,  at  1  dollar  50  cents  per  day  . 
Fourteen  days  hewing  logs,  at  1  d.  50  c.  per  day 
Cutting  and  hauling  rafters   .... 
One  thousand  boards  for  roofing,  at  1  d.  per  100 
Nails  for  roofing     ...... 

s  The  inhabitants  assert  that  tame  cuttings  will  not  grow  on 
the  wild  stocks,  but  I  proved  this  to  be  wrong  by  engrafting 
some  which  grew  very  well. 


9 

no 

21 

00 

2 

50 

10 

no 

1 

50 

244 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 


Putting  on  roof 

200  boards  for  weather-boarding  gable  ends  . 
Studding  for  nailing  weather  boards  to  . 
Sawing  out  two  doors,  one  window,  and  a  fireplace 
720  feet  of  plank  for  flooring  and  lofting,  at  2  d. 

per  100         

Laying   down   floors     say   eight    days   taken,   the 

workman  found  in  bed  and  board 
Making  and  fitting-in  doors    ..... 
Making  and  fitting-in  window         .... 
2000  ricks  for  chimney,  at  5  dollars  per  1000 
5  bushels  of  lime,  at  12%  cents  per  bushel    . 


3  days  hauling  of  brick  with  two  yoke  of  steers,  at 
2   d.  per   day6     .         

Building  chimney  5  dollars,  and  man  to  attend  on 
bricklayer  2  dollars     ...... 

16  bushels  of  lime,  at  12%  cents,  for  daubing  the 
spaces  between  the  logs       . 

2  days  hauling  lime  and  sand  at  2  d.  per  day 

Chunking,  i.  e.,  partially  filling  up  the  spaces  be- 
tween the  logs  with  bits  of  wood 

Daubing,  one  hand  four  days,  at  1  d.  per  day 

Building  (including  all  work)   stable  for  2  horses 

Building    (including  all  work)    a   corn  crib   that 
will  contain  500  bushels  of  unshocked  corn 

Building  smoke  house     ..... 

Cow  pen  ....... 

Digging  well  30  feet  deep,  at  25  cents  the  perpen 
dicular   foot 7       .....         . 

Hauling  stones,   15  loads,  at  an  average  of  dis 


5  00 
2  00 
1  00 
1  00 

14  40 


12 

00 

10 

00 

2 

75 

10 

00 

62% 

108  77% 


6  00 


7  00 


2 

00 

4 

00 

1 

00 

4 

00 

15 

00 

20 

00 

15 

00 

7 

00 

7  50 


e  It  is  here  assumed  that  only  one  load  of  bricks  can  be 
hauled  per  day  which,  taking  the  average  distances  from  where 
bricks  are  made,  will  be  a  tolerably  correct  estimate  for  Ran- 
dolph County. 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  245 

taiices,    one    load   per    day,    with   two   yoke   of 

oxen  at  2  d.  per  day    ......  30  00 

Building  sides  of  well  at  25  c.  the  perpendicular 

foot 7  50 

Furnishing  well  with  roller,  rope  and  bucket    say  5  00 

Horse 100  00 

Cow 15  00 

Hogs  and  poultry 5  00 

Furniture 20  00 

Household  expenses,  say  for  a  family  of  four       .  50  00 

Saddle   and    bridle 10  00 


439  ny2 


Cost  of  Buying,  Fencing,  and  Improving  80  Acres  of 
Land  in  Randolph  County,  Illinois. 

Purchasing  80  acres  of  land  at  1  dollar  25  cents 

per  acre 100  00 

Making  10,000  rails  at  1  dollar  per  100        .         .  100  00 

Hauling  (same)   3  miles 80  00 

Building  (rail  fence)  at  1  dollar  per  day  .  .  12  00 
To  put  80  acres  into  fields  of  20  acres  requiring 

half  the  quantity  of  ring  fence8  .  .  .  96  00 
Planting  sod  corn  requiring  about  one  bushel  to 

4  acres  at  30  cents  per  bushel  9  .         .         .         .  6  00 

Breaking  up  80  acres  at  2  doll.  50  cents  per  acre  200  00 
Sowing  with  wheat  in  the  fall,  one  bushel  of  wheat 

per  acre,  at  80  cents  per  bushel  .         .         .         .  64  00 

?  The  wells  are  always  made  as  narrow  as  they  can  con- 
veniently be  worked. 

8  By  the  law  of  this  state  march  fences  are  made  and  upheld 
at  the  mutual  expense  of  the  respective  proprietors,  if  both 
derive  benefit  from  such  fences. 

»  The  prairie  plough  goes  without  being  held,  and  the  plough- 
man scatters  along  every  third  or  fourth  furrow  the  seed  which 
is  covered  in  by  the  next  round  of  the  plough. 


246  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

Sower,  six  days,  at  1  dollar  per  day 

Harrowing  12  days,  at  1  doll.  50  c.  per  day  . 

Cutting,  hauling  home,  and  setting  up  corn,  at 
1  doll.  50  c.  per  acre 

Harvesting  wheat,  at  1  doll.  25  cents  per  acre 

Hauling  and  stacking  do.  at  57  cents  an  acre 

Thrashing  by  small  thrashing  mill  hauled  about 
the  country;  and  which  thrashes  100  bushels  a 
day,  at  6*4  cents  a  bushel;  allowing  the  ground 
to  have  produced  22  bushels  an  acre10       .         .         110  00 

Hauling  to  market  a  day's  journey,  or  from  25  to 

30  miles,  at  12%  cents  per  bushel      ...         220  00 


6 

00 

18 

00 

120 

00 

100 

00 

45 

60 

1277  60 


Value  of  Produce  Raised  from  80  Acres  of  Land  Dur* 
ing  Two  Seasons  with  one  Ploughing  and 

Harrowing. 

d.   c. 
80  acres  of  sod  corn,  30  bushela  per  acre  at  30 
cents  per  bushel  .......        720  00 

80  acres  of  wheat  producing  22  bushels  per  acre 

at  80  cents  per  bushel 1408  00 


Deduct  outlay  for  building  . 
do.  for  land,  fencing,  etc.     . 


410  62% 
io  Treading  out  with  horses  will  cost  upwards  of  one-half 
more  than  threshing  with  the  mill.  A  man  and  a  boy  with  four 
horses  will  tread  out  25  bushels  at  an  expense  of  2  doll.  50  cents 
per  day.  For  threshing  with  the  flail  the  eighth  part  is  allowed ; 
the  thresher  helping  to  clean  the  grain. 


439  77% 
1277  60 

2128  00 

1717  37% 

EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  247 

From  the  preceding  statements  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  farmer  after  having  contracted  for  everything 
realizes  a  clear  profit  of  410  dollars  62^  cents  from 
the  land.  And  had  he  himself  laboured  [it]  would 
have  increased  that  sum  to  a  very  considerable 
amount. 

It  may  be  said,  perhaps,  that  the  wheat  is  valued 
too  high,  but  the  price  assumed  is  nearly  30  cents  less 
than  the  price  of  wheat  during  a  plentiful  season  that 
I  was  [witnessed]  in  Randolph  County,  Illinois.  Last 
year  (1841),  owing  to  the  monetary  convulsion  in  the 
United  States,  the  price  had  fallen,  but  the  average 
price  still  was  80  cents  a  bushel,  and  prices  were  look- 
ing up.  Times  were  considered  to  have  been  very  dull 
and  prices  low.  But  even  admitting  that  there  was 
no  profit  during  the  first  two  seasons,  the  price  of  the 
land,  fencing,  buildings,  etc.  amounting  (with  the 
deduction  of  50  dollars  for  household  expences)  to 
777  dollars  77%  cents  would  afterwards  be  saved. 

Were  the  farmer  himself  to  labour,  he  would  re- 
quire, in  addition  to  the  things  already  mentioned, 

d.  c. 

A  pair  of  trained  oxen  ......  55  00 

Waggon,  plough,  and  gear  for  oxen       .         .         .         100  00 

Axe 1  75 

Wedges 1  00 


157  75 


The  case  supposed  above  is  an  extreme  one,  and 
most  likely  will  never  be  reduced  to  practice.  At  the 
same  time  it  may  afford  data  for  a  greater  variety  of 


248 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 


cases  than  if  it  had  been  confined  within  the  bounds 
of  actual  practice  in  any  individual  instance;  and,  in 
order  the  better  to  supply  this  desideratum,  details  of 
the  different  items  have  been  given  at  some  length. 

Comparative  view  of  the  prieces  of  produce  in  Ran- 
dolph County,  Ills.,  in  the  years  1830,  1837,  and  1841. 


1830 

1837 

1841 

Wheat,  per  bushel   . 

0.50 

1.25 

0.80 

Indian  corn,  per  do. 

0.21 

0.50 

0.36M 

Oats,  per  do.  . 

0.35 

0.50 

0.3614 

Castor  oil  beans,  per  do. 

0.75 

1.13 

1.25 

Good  horses,  each    . 

55.0 

120.0 

120.0 

Cows,  per  head 

8.0 

17.0 

15.0 

Work  Oxen  a  pair  . 

45.0 

70.0 

55.0 

Three  years  old  steers     . 

11.0 

18.0 

18.0 

Three  years  old  heifers    . 

10.0 

15.0 

16.0 

Beef,  per  100  lbs.     . 

2.0 

3.75 

4.50 

Pork,  per  do.  . 

2.0 

3.75 

3.0 

Mutton,  per  lb.11     . 

0.6U 

Concluding  Remarks. 

Emigrants  sometimes  find  difficulty,  particularly 
when  going  to  the  west,  in  effecting  a  satisfactory  ex- 
change of  money.  Where  gold  is  taken,  of  course,  an 
exchange  can  always  be  effected  in  New  York,  or  in  the 
British  Provinces,  at  the  current  rates;  but  when 
going  to  the  far  west,  or  indeed  to  any  place  far  inland 
in  the  states,  sovereigns  must  be  disposed  of  at  New 

ii  I  do  not  know  the  price  of  sheep  at  present  in  Eandolph 
County,  but  taking  48  lbs.  as  the  average  weight,  and  that  will 
not  be  far  from  the  mark;  the  carcase,  at  6%  cents  per  pound, 
would  cost  3  dollars.  I  saw  in  1838  a  number  of  sheep  of  dif- 
ferent ages  sold  for  between  3  dollars  and  4  dollars  a  head. 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  249 

York,  or  such  seaport  as  the  emigrant  may  land  at. 
Should  the  sum  be  considerable,  I  think  the  emigrant 
will  find  it  most  to  his  interest  to  negotiate  it  by  means 
of  bills  of  exchange,  for  which  he  will  receive  a  higher 
premium  than  for  gold,  as  the  risk  of  loss,  and  expence 
of  negotiation,  are  not  so  great.  Good  bills  on  London 
are  marketable  articles  in  all  maritime  cities  in  the 
world,  and  are  frequently  worth  more  than  gold.  As 
a  still  farther  security  against  loss,  the  holder  of  the 
bills  should  at  least  have  duplicates,  or  what  is  termed 
first  and  second  of  exchange,  which  enhances  their 
value  in  a  foreign  market.  In  the  case  of  bills,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  have  an  introduction  to  some  merchant, 
or  other  person  of  respectability,  who  is  known  to  the 
money  changers,  and  who  will  guarantee  that  you  are 
the  true  holder. 

Owing  to  the  instability  of  the  monetary  affairs  of 
the  United  States,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  give  any 
advice  about  money,  that  shall  be  of  service  for  many 
months.  Should  there  be  a  substantial  bank  in  New 
York  or  Philadelphia,  it  would,  perhaps,  be  most  ad- 
visable to  deposit  such  money  as  the  emigrant  should 
not  need  on  his  journey  west,  and,  for  the  amount, 
receive  checques,  which  will  increase  in  value  as  they 
are  taken  west.  Such  checques,  and  bill,  at  St.  Louis, 
in  1837,  obtained  a  premium  ranging  from  two  to 
seven  percent.  Western  money  may  be  had  at  New 
York,  with  the  recognized  rate  of  exchange  between  it 
and  the  eastern  money,  and,  if  the  sum  is  not  large, 
this  method  of  disposing  of  it  may  be  as  good  as  any, 
as  it  saves  the  trouble  and  expence  of  performing  per- 


250  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

haps  a  long  journey,  to  some  western  city ;  but  where 
the  sum  is  large,  it  is  not  so  safe.  Bank  notes,  or 
Bills,  as  they  are  called,  ought  to  be  for  considerable 
sums,  say  50  dollars  or  100  dollars  each ;  a  number  of 
small  bills  being  bulky  and  troublesome,  and  not  so 
negotiable  as  the  large  ones  in  the  west.  The  checques 
and  bills  are  sold  in  the  west  to  merchants,  who  make 
yearly  or  half  yearly  journeys  to  the  east  for  goods. 
When  the  sum  deposited  in  the  bank  is  large,  it  is 
sometimes  convenient  to  divide  it  into  several  sums, 
having  a  checque  for  each,  as,  in  that  case,  one  can 
dispose  of  either  the  whole,  or  a  part,  as  may  be  found 
most  advantageous.  In  travelling  west,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  get  rid  of  the  money  of  one  state  before 
entering  another,  otherwise  the  bills  will  not  pass,  and 
in  order  to  negotiate  them  with  the  banks  or  mer- 
chants, a  discount  will  have  to  be  submitted  to ;  there 
will  seldom  be  any  difficulty  found  in  exchanging  them 
at  hotels  on  the  borders  of  different  states. 

Although  no  British  coin  pass  current  in  the  United 
States,  yet  some  of  those  of  France,  Spain,  and  Mexico 
do  so.  The  Spanish  and  Mexican  dollars  are  consid- 
ered equivalent  to  that  of  the  United  States,  but  the 
French  five  franc  piece,  is  generally  rated  about  96, 
or  four  cents  less  than  the  dollar. 

The  United  States  possess  what  is  termed  a  '  decimal 
coinage',  of  which  the  dollar  is  the  standard  or  pri- 
mary unit.  By  this  system  the  process  of  calculation 
is  very  much  simplified  and  to  render  cents  (that  is 
hundredth)  into  dollars,  it  is  only  necessary  to  point 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  251 

off  the  decimals;  thus  1.00  are  1  dollar;  or  10.35y2 
cents  are  in  the  same  way  understood  as  10  dollars 
351/2  cents,  and  so  on  to  any  amount. 

The  metallic  currency  of  the  United  States  consists 
of  the  double  eagle  of  10  dollars,  eagle  of  5  dollars, 
half  eagle  of  2  dollars  and  50  cents,  in  gold;  the  dol- 
lars, half  dollar,  quarter  dollar,  12y2  cents,  or  York 
shilling,  ten  cents  or  dime,  Q1/^  cents  or  York  sixpence, 
5  cents  or  half  dime  in  silver,  and  the  cent  in  copper. 

The  season  in  which  I  visited  the  United  States  was 
one  remarkable  for  sickness,  and  the  southern  and 
western  states  suffered  much,  but  with  the  exception 
of  such  visitations,  it  would  appear  that  the  inhab- 
itants of  Illinois  enjoy  a  very  fair  amount  of  good 
health;  indeed,  it  appeared  to  me,  that  they  were 
exempted  from  such  a  variety  of  diseases  as  we  see  in 
this  country  —  that  there  was  some  predisposing 
cause  to  bilious  complaints,  to  the  exclusion  of  those 
of  other  types.  There,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  world, 
much  of  the  disease  encountered  is  the  result  of  rash- 
ness and  folly ;  and  no  man  of  intemperate  habits  need 
expect  to  avoid  the  effects  of  such  habits,  merely  by  a 
change  of  country,  more  especially  if  the  change  be  to 
a  warmer  climate. 

Some  people  appear  to  think,  that,  if  they  were 
once  across  the  Atlantic,  they  would  have  nothing  else 
to  do  but  to  enjoy  themselves;  but  they  will  find 
themselves  mistaken.  All  must  labour  there,  as  well 
as  in  this  country ;  the  difference  is,  that,  in  America 
there  is  plenty  of  room  and  abundant  remuneration 


252  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

for  labour,  whilst  in  Britain,  the  working  population 
exceeds  the  demand,  and,  consequently,  the  price  of 
labour  is  small :  there  is  plenty  to  do,  with  plenty  to 
live  on,  in  the  one  count  [r]y,  and  there  is  too  little  to 
do,  and  far  too  little  for  it,  in  the  other. 

Where  there  is  such  a  wide  and  varied  field  to 
choose  from,  many  are  apt  to  waver,  and  roam  about 
from  place  to  place  in  search  of  an  El  Dorado,  which 
is  never  destined  to  bless  their  eyes.  There  is  some- 
thing enticing  in  the  dreamy  visions  one  gets  (like 
peeps  into  the  realms  of  hope)  of  newer  and  fairer 
lands,  whose  praises  come,  borne  along  by  the  western 
winds,  and  which,  like  them,  have  no  abiding  place.  I 
have  met  with  men  who  had  travelled  thousands  of 
miles,  much  of  it  on  foot,  and  who  seemed  just  as  far 
from  attaining  their  object  as  when  they  started.  At 
one  time  the  valley  of  the  Wabash  was  the  rage ;  then 
it  turned  out  that  some  part  of  Illinois,  for  instance 
Sangammon,  was  the  right  place ;  it  was  not  long  till 
some  part  of  Missouri  was  the  grand  desideratum; 
that  again  was  abandoned  for  Rock  River,  which,  in 
turn,  gave  place  to  Ouisconsin,  and  now,  I  believe, 
some  weary  with  wandering  about  the  states,  have  left 
them,  and  clearing  the  Rocky  Mountains  at  a  bound, 
have  landed  in  California. 

Although  I  visited  some  parts  of  Canada,  the  num- 
ber of  works  about  that  country,  already  before  the 
public,  render  any  fresh  remarks  supererogatory.  My 
only  reason  for  alluding  to  the  country  at  all,  is  merely 
to  state,  as  my  decided  opinion,  that  it  does  not,  at 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  253 

present,  afford  such  facilities  for  emigrants,  as  are  to 
be  met  with  in  many  parts  of  the  United  States.  Can- 
ada, however,  possesses  one  advantage  over  the  western 
states  in  the  greater  salubrity  of  its  climate ;  a  circum- 
stance which  may  be  allowed  to  counter-balance  many 
disadvantages.  The  climate  of  the  eastern  and  middle 
states,  differs  little,  as  regards  healthiness,  from  that 
of  Canada. 

At  present,  a  feeling  of  mistrust  has  been  engendered 
by  the  ominous  accounts  which  have  emanated  from 
the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  and  by  the  return  to 
Britain  of  numbers  who  had  emigrated.  Now,  nothing 
is  more  certain  than  that  there  has  been  great  derange- 
ment of  money  matters  —  that  there  has  been  a  want 
of  employment  for  labour,  and  consequently,  that 
there  has  been  some  privation.  But,  whilst  this  is 
true,  it  is  none  the  less  certain  that  distress  has  not 
afflicted  all  parts  of  the  country  to  the  same  extent  — 
that  the  western  settler  has  not  felt  the  pressure  of 
the  times,  nor  been  so  much  forced  to  increase  his 
exertions  for  subsistence,  as  has  the  inhabitant  of  the 
thickly  peopled,  and  more  artificial  Eastern  states. 

Civilization  induces  artificial  wants,  which  must  be 
artificially  supplied,  and,  when  any  impediment 
occurs  to  the  onward  cause  of  affairs,  in  civilized  com- 
munities, want  must  be  the  result  to  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  people,  who  have  nothing  to  rely  on  for 
subsistence,  beyond  the  immediate  fruits  of  their  daily 
labour.  In  such  communities,  are  to  be  found  the 
greatest  amount  of  wealth,  and  the  greatest  amount 


254  EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 

of  poverty.  The  wealthy  are  enabled  to  contend  with 
the  difficulty  to  an  extent  in  some  measure  propor- 
tioned to  their  means:  at  all  events  to  ward  off  its 
worst  effects  for  a  time;  whilst  the  poor  are  at  once 
exposed  to  its  pressure.  This  state  of  society  exists  in 
some  sections,  more  particularly  in  the  Eastern  and 
Middle  States,  and  in  parts  of  some  others,  along  the 
Atlantic  sea-board;  whilst  all  over  the  west  (with  the 
exception  of  a  few  large  towns),  and  in  many  other 
parts  of  the  country,  an  agricultural  people,  with 
habits  of  almost  patriarchal  simplicity,  prevails;  and 
these  are  affected  by  the  fluctuations  in  the  affairs  of 
their  artificial  brethren,  in  proportion  to  the  distance 
by  which  they  are  separated  from  them,  and  from  the 
influence  of  their  more  speculative  habits. 

If  some  calamity  were  suddenly  to  annihilate  the 
commerce,  and  means  of  existence,  of  some  of  the  most 
populous  cities  in  the  Eastern  states,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  much  misery  would  ensue  to  the  inhab- 
itants of  these  cities,  and  that  the  effects  of  the  shock 
would  be  felt  far  and  wide ;  but,  although  the  western 
husbandman  might  not  be  able  to  get  so  much  for  his 
grain  and  cattle  as  he  used  to,  still  the  grain  and 
cattle  would  be  produced  —  he  would  not  starve. 

From  all  this  I  would  infer  that  the  agricultural 
emigrant,  whose  destination  is  the  Mississippi  Valley, 
need  not,  from  any  apparent  temporary  derange- 
ment of  the  commercial  affairs  of  the  United  States, 
abandon  his  intention  of  betaking  himself  to  that 
country,  with  the  view  of  buying  and  cultivating  land 
as  a  means  of  subsistence. 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS  255 

In  conclusion,  I  wish  it  to  be  distinctly  understood 
that  I  advise  no  man,  whatever  may  be  his  circum- 
stances, to  emigrate,  either  to  Illinois,  or  to  any  other 
part  of  the  world.  I  have  arranged  the  information  I 
possess,  and  have  laid  it  before  those  who  think  of 
emigrating,  that  they  may  have  the  materials  for 
forming  a  judgement  for  themselves.  But  whilst  I  am 
unwilling  to  advise,  I  may  perhaps  be  allowed  to  give 
a  caution.  Let  no  one  whose  prospects  are  good  at 
home  rashly  think  of  emigrating.  The  poor;  those 
who  see  unavoidable  difficulty  approaching  them,  and 
such  as  have  families  without  any  adequate  provision 
for  them,  are  the  proper  immigrants  to  a  new  country, 
where  thews  and  sinews  are  convertable  into  wealth ; 
and  to  such  many  parts  of  the  United  States  will  af- 
ford a  fitting  and  welcome  asylum.  Still  it  is  a  new 
country,  a  country  of  strangers,  and  of  new  habits, 
which  form  a  complete  and  often  not  very  pleasing 
contrast  to  those  already  acquired;  and  home  is  the 
word  universally  used  by  emigrants,  when  speaking 
of  their  native  land.  Neither  do  I  wish  to  recommend 
any  particular  state  in  the  Union,  for  although  there 
are  places  which  I  prefer  to  others,  still  there  are 
advantages  and  disadvantages  in  all.  I  have  written 
chiefly  about  Illinois,  because  I  happen  to  know  more 
about  it  than  the  rest  of  the  states. 


Newcastle  upon  Tyne:    Printed  by  W.  A.  Mitchell. 
St.  Nicholas*  Church  Yard. 


Index 


Abolitionists,  37,  68 

Amboy,  voyage  from  New 
York  to,  21 

American  bottom,  Elinois,  169 

Amusements,  popular,  120 

Axes,  models  of,  83 

Barley,  89 

Bears,  135 

Bird's  Point,  47 

Bison,  American,  134 

Boatmen,  46 

Bottoms,  unhealthy  climate  of, 
233 

Bowlders,  204 

Bryant,  relative  of  Daniel 
Boone,  203 

Bucyrus,  Ohio,  210 

Buffalo  licks,  134 

Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  212 

Burials,  mode  of,  133 

Castor  beans,  91 

Cattle,  breeding  of,  102 

,  taxation  of,  119 

Cattle  drovers,  105-108,  175 

Centerville,  207 

Chicago  and  New  York,  dis- 
tances betw.  points,  226 

Chimneys,  81 

Choppers,  dexterity  of,  82 

Chopping  bee,  84 

Cincinnati,  38 

Civilization,  economic  aspects, 
253 


Coal  beds,  66 

Collinsville,  Illinois,  174 

Columbus,  Ohio,  209 

Coon  hunt,  137 

Corn,  cultivation  of,  84-87 

Corn  husking,  73-76 

■  stalks,  sizes,  87 

Cotton,  cultivation  in  Illinois, 
89 

Cottonwood,  51 

Country  stores,  124 

Cumberland,  188 

Dayton,  Ohio,  208 

Deer,  135 

,  superstition  about,  72 

Deer  hunting,  157 

Devil,  name  forms,   71 

Delaware  river,  23 

Diseases,  prairie  region,  129 

Distances  between  points, 
mouth  of  Ohio  to  St.  Louis, 
224 

,  New  York  to  Chicago, 

226 

,  New  York  to  Philadel- 
phia, 220 

,  Pittsburgh    to    mouth 


of  Ohio,  221 
,   St.   Louis   and   Peru, 


111.,  228 
Downingville,  ideal  city  of,  54 
Drovers,  105-108,  175 
Eagle,  bald-headed,  51 


258 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 


Elk,  135 

Embarras  River,  192 

Erie  Canal,  travel  on,  227 

Ewington,  190 

Fares  of  travel,  New  York  to 

St.  Louis,  225 
Farm  buildings,  detail  cost  of, 

243 

produce,  value  of,  246 

Farming,  initial  cost  of,  246 

1 ,  Ohio  country,  40 

Farms,  initial  cost  of,  245 

Fencing,  239 

Fishing,  147 

Flies,  prevalence,  149 

Food,  popular,  76 

Forest  landscape,  182 

Fowls  109 

Fruit  trees,  planting  in  fences, 

241 
Gambling  in  hotels,  55 

on  steamboats,  30 

Game,  Kentucky,  46 

,  prevalence,  134 

Grand  Tower,  51 

Grain  crops,  85 

Greenhead  flies,   171,  188 

Grist  mills,  125 

Grocery  stores,  124 

Grouse,  pinnated,  82,  145 

Hares,  142 

Harrisburg,  24 

Hay,  93 

Hog  killing,  77-80 

Hogs,  enemies  of  snakes,  152 

,  native,  77 


Hollow  horn  in  cattle,  103 
Horse  racing,  121 
Horses,  breeding  of,  101 
Hospitality    of    settlers,    179, 

184,  191,  194 
Hotels  on  the  frontier,  41,  54 
House  building,  detail  cost  of, 

243 

flies,  prevalence,  149 

■  raising,  236 

Hunters,  Western,  154-159 
Hunting,  154 

,  superstition  in,  72 

Husking  bee,  73-76 
Illinois,  climate,  127 

,  government,  113 

■ — ,  prairies  of,  56-59 

Independence  day  celebration, 

121 
Indianapolis,  205 
Inns,  201 
Insect  pests,  148 
Kaskaskia  landing,  52 

■  River,  52 

,  town  of,  53 

Kentucky  rifle,  159 
Lands,  public,  110-119 

,  school,  110 

,  taxable,  Illinois,  114 

Licks,  buffalo,  134 

Log  houses,  building  of,  236 

Looking-glass  Prairie,  181 

Louisville,  39 

Luxuries  on  the  frontier,  27 

Lynch  law,  168 

Maize,  cultivation,  84-87 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 


259 


Manhattan,  town  of,  202 
Marino  Settlement,  178 
Marion,  Ohio,  210 
Marshall,  town  of,  196 
Mills,  grist,  125 

,  saw,  125 

Minks,  140 
Missisauga,  150-152 
Mississippi  River,  49 

,  junction  with  Ohio,  41 

Money,  exchange  of,  248 
Mosquitoes,  149 
Movers,  189 
Monks'  Mound,  170 
Mounds,  Southern  Illinois,  170 
National  Road,  187,  200,  206 
New   York   and  Chicago,   dis- 
tances betw.  points,  226 

and  Philadelphia,  dis- 
tances betw.  points,  220 

Oats,  cultivation,  89 
Ohio  River,  distances  of  points 
along,  221 

Valley,    antiquity    of 

population,  62 

Okan  River,  52 
Orchards,  186 
Owl,  barred,  147 
Partridges,  146 
Passenger  pigeons,  146 
Pests,  insect,  148 
Philadelphia,  23 

and   New    York,    dis- 
tances betw.  points,  220 

Physicians    on    the     frontier, 
130,  188 


Pittsburgh,   26 

Ploughs,  97-100 

Polecats,  140 

Population,  antiquity  of,  in 
Ohio  Valley,  62 

of  prairie  region,  char- 
acter of,  68 

Pottsville,  Pa.,  coal,  23 

Prairie  chicken,  82,  145 

fires,  63-66 

hens,  82,  145 

— ■  ploughs,  97 

Prairies,  description  of,  56-59 
,  seeding    with    grasses 

95 

Public  lands,  110-119 

Quack  physicians,  131 

Quails,  146 

Rabbits,  142 

Raccoons,  137 

Rail  fences,  239 

Rattlesnakes,  150-152 

Religious  denominations,  69-71 

Rice,  89 

Ridge  Prairie,  177 

Rifles,  159-166 

River  bottoms,  unhealthy  cli- 
mate, 233 

Roads,  condition,   195 

Roving  disposition  of  settlers, 
189 

St.  Louis,  167 

and  Peru  (111.)  dis- 
tances betw.  points,  228 

and    Pittsburg,    dis- 


tances betw.  points,  224 


260 


EIGHT  MONTHS  IN  ILLINOIS 


Sandusky,  Ohio,  209,  211 

Sangamon  Valley,  177 

Saw  Mills,  125 

School  districts,  organization, 
112 

lands,  110 

Scythe,  cutting  with,  92 

"Setting  out  fire,"  63 

Settlers,  roving  disposition  of, 
189 

Sheep  breeding,  108 

Silence,  trait  of  Western  Set- 
tlers, 185 

Singing  bees,  124 

Skunks,  138 

Slavery,  32 

Snags,  50 

Snakes,  150 

Snake-weeds,   150 

Soil,  cultivation  of,  84 

Springfield,  Ohio,  208 

Squirrels,  142 

Stage  coach,  24 

Steamboat  voyage,  New  York 
to  Amboy,  21 

Steamboats,  Ohio  River,  28 

Stores,   country,  124 

Storms,  126 

Suffrage,  113 

Superstition,  71-73 

Susquehanna  river,  23 

Swathing  grain,  92 

Sycamore,  40 

Taverns,  201 

Tax  titles,  land,  119 

Taxation  of  cattle,  119 


Taxation  of  land,  119 

Tearers  (rifles),  163 

Terre  Haute,  198 

Thunder-storms,    126 

Ticks,  148 

Timothy  hay  meadows,  94 

Towns,  Western,  27 

Townships,  115 

Trappists   at  Monks'  Mound, 

170 
Travel,  fares  betw.  New  York 

and  St.  Louis,  225 
Traveling,    popular    directions 

for,  183,  193 
Trees,  felling  of,  83 

,  rapid  growth,  63 

Trials  at  law,  168 

Troy,  Ridge  Prairie,  174 

Turkey  buzzards,  51 

Turkeys,  wild,  143 

Turnips,   cultivation,   90 

Vandalia,  186 

Wabash  bottoms,  197 

Weeds,  prolific  growth,  94 

Wells,  235 

Wheat,  cultivation,  88 

Wheeling,  Va.,   31 

Winds,    prevalent,    directions 

of,  129 
Winter,    severity    in    Illinois, 

81 
Wolfs,  135-137 
Wood  choppers,  dexterity  of, 

82 
Worm  fences,  239 
Wool,  use  of,  109 


Wi 


